US President Donald Trump has shared a draft peace proposal for the conflict with Iran among allies, including Israel, as efforts continue to prevent further ceasefire violations from spiralling and undermining negotiations, The Guardian reported on Friday.
The proposal circulated by Trump closely resembles versions already discussed across the Middle East in recent days. Under the draft arrangement, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to commercial maritime traffic, the US blockade on Iranian ports would end, and Tehran would regain access to up to $12bn (£9bn) in frozen funds.
The agreement aims to restore shipping activity through the strategic waterway to pre-conflict levels within 30 days, while formal negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme would begin under a process expected to continue for up to 60 days.
The talks would cover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a temporary halt to further enrichment activities and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog. Iran would also formally reject the pursuit of nuclear weapons.
China, meanwhile, has been pushing for any eventual agreement to receive approval from the UN Security Council.
The US and Iran have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, but President Donald Trump still needs to give final approval, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two US officials.
The 60-day deal will say that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be unrestricted, with no tolls or harassment and with Iran having to remove all mines within 30 days, Axios reported.
The US will in return lift its naval blockade on Iran’s ports, but only in proportion to how much commercial shipping is restored, it said.
The memorandum will also contain an Iranian commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon, Axios said. Among the first issues to be addressed is how to dispose of Iran´s stocks of enriched uranium.
Washington and Tehran both accused each other of violating the truce earlier on Thursday following an exchange of fire.
