After the White House received word this week that Iran was comfortable with the latest draft proposal to end the war, President Donald Trump told advisers he wanted a few days to decide whether to sign the prospective agreement, officials familiar with the matter said.
It appears unlikely Trump will sign off before receiving definitive word that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has given his approval to the document, one official said.
The current document would extend for 60 days the current ceasefire, which has been under strain this week as the US and Iran trade fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
A US official said the plan stipulates that the strait would reopen immediately, without tolls and unrestricted to traffic, and that Iran would commit to removing mines in the waterway within 30 days.
The US blockade of Iranian ports would be lifted progressively after that as traffic is restored through the strait. Officials hope the progressive lifting of the blockade will provide an incentive to Iran to remove the mines it has laid over the course of the war.
The plan would also create a phased system by which Iran would see financial relief as long as it complies with US demands.
Trump has consistently railed against the “pallets of cash” delivered to Iran as part of the 2015 Obama-era deal. Officials are looking at ways other countries, namely Qatar, might release funds for Iran that would avoid direct US involvement, the officials said.
There have also been discussions around an investment fund for Iran that would provide billions of dollars for reconstruction once a final deal is reached. The US would not invest in the fund, and the bulk of the money would come from Gulf nations.
On the thorniest issue — Iran’s nuclear program — the deal pushes off much of the details for future negotiations.
Trump and his negotiators have been insistent any deal includes a disavowal from Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and a commitment to dispose of their highly enriched uranium.
But how exactly that disposal would happen — whether the uranium is shipped to the US, destroyed in Iran or moved to another country — will be deferred to further talks.