While the situation seemed at a standstill between the two countries, the United States and Iran are trying, this Sunday, May 24, to finalize an agreement to end the conflict between them.
The United States and Iran seek to finalize an agreement on Sunday after reporting a breakthrough in their discussions to end the war, with Donald Trump citing a “widely negotiated” compromise which would provide for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to American media, this agreement would allow ships to once again cross Hormuz, a vital strait for the world economy, and would ease the sanctions weighing on Iran. But the thorny issue of nuclear power would be left to later negotiations.
A next round of negotiations
According to CBS News, citing sources close to the discussions, the latest proposal would include freezing some Iranian assets in banks abroad and continuing negotiations for another 30 days. A deadline also reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement discussed does not resolve the question of how precisely Iran would get rid of its stocks of enriched uranium, which would be the subject of a next round of negotiations “in the weeks or months to come”, reported the New York Times, relying on American officials.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Tehran was in the “finalization phase” of a memorandum of understanding with Washington.
“This does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on important issues,” emphasized Esmaïl Baghaï, specifying that the nuclear issue was not part “at this stage” of the agreement under discussion.
This is, however, the case of the lifting of the naval blockade imposed by the United States on Iranian ports and of the question of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, de facto blocked by Iran since the start of the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, mediator in these negotiations, fueled the scenario on Sunday of a resolution of the conflict in several stages, declaring that he hoped to “welcome the next negotiation session very soon”.
A first unsuccessful session of talks was held in Islamabad on April 11 between senior American and Iranian officials.
The phone rings
The draft agreement “extensively negotiated” with Iran and “subject to being finalized” includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, said American President Donald Trump in a message on his Truth Social platform.
Its publication came after a telephone discussion with numerous leaders of Gulf states, but also of Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan.
The American president also said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a “separate” call which Donald Trump said went well. The American media have reported in recent days divergent strategies between Donald Trump and his Israeli ally, the first pushing for a diplomatic solution while the second would like to resume fighting.
The apparent rapprochement of the belligerents came after weeks of blockades and threats. Earlier on Saturday, Donald Trump estimated the chances of a “good” agreement or a resumption of war at “50-50”, speaking to the media Axios.
The same day, Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, promised a “crushing” response if the United States resumed its war against Iran. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had just met the head of the Pakistani army, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran as part of Islamabad’s mediation efforts.
“Peaceful solutions”
After more than a month of war which left thousands dead and shook the world economy, a ceasefire has been in force since April 8 between Iran and the United States.
In the Gulf, diplomats are working to try to bring discussions to a successful conclusion and avoid a resumption of strikes. During the call with Donald Trump, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, urged to “prioritize peaceful solutions”, according to his office.
Qatar, like other Gulf petromonarchies allied with the United States, was targeted by Iranian retaliatory fire on its territory during the first weeks of the war.
Unpopular in the United States, the war also seriously disrupted the world economy. A fifth of the hydrocarbons consumed in the world passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the conflict.
The Iranians do not hide their weariness. “The state of ‘neither war nor peace’ is much worse than the war itself. We can’t even plan for something as simple as joining a gym,” laments Shahrzad, 39, by telephone from Paris.
On the Lebanese front, despite the ceasefire that came into force on April 17, the Israeli army, which lost a 22nd soldier on Saturday since the start of the war with pro-Iranian Hezbollah, is increasing raids and calls to evacuate in southern Lebanon. In Nabatiyé, the Lebanese civil defense deplored on Sunday the destruction of its regional center in an Israeli strike.
/2026/06/10/6a28930de28d1465956743.jpg "Guerre au Moyen-Orient : les Etats-Unis annoncent des frappes \"proportionnées\" contre l'Iran après l'attaque d'un hélicoptère américain")
