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Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on May 23 that Tehran is in the final stages of drafting a framework for a deal to end the war with the United States.
“Within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days, the details of these points will be discussed and a final agreement will ultimately be concluded. We are currently in the process of finalizing these memoranda of understanding,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.
“Our intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” he added.
Baqaei noted what he described as “a trend toward rapprochement” with Washington but cautioned that this “does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistani Army, which has been playing a leading role in the negotiations between Iran and the U.S., confirmed that the previous 24 hours have resulted in “encouraging” progress toward a final understanding to end the war on the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s top negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had met Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir in Tehran as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts over regional tensions.
Munir also held meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in the presence of Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during his visit to Iran.
From his side, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there is a chance Iran will accept a deal to end the Middle East war as soon as today.
“There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple of days, we may have something to say,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi, adding he hoped for “good news.”
“There’s been some progress done, some progress made. Even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done,” he added.
Rubio reiterated that Washington is demanding Iran fully open the Strait of Hormuz — on which it has exerted control since the start of the American Israeli war on February 28 — and that the Islamic Republic hands over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s “preference is always to solve problems such as these through a negotiated diplomatic solution. That’s what we’re working on right now,” Rubio said.
“But this problem will be solved, as the president’s made… clear, one way or the other,” he added.
Meanwhile, two Israeli defense officials revealed to The New York Post that the U.S. has almost completely excluded Israel from the negotiations with Iran. This complicates the situation as there is no guarantee that Israel will honor any understanding between the two sides.
While all recent remarks from Iranian and American officials have been positive, there are still signs that Washington may be attempting to deceive Tehran, yet again.
One report by CBS News said that the Trump administration is readying to launch a wave of fresh U.S. strikes against Iran. The report stresses no decision has been made, but notes that Trump is skipping his son’s wedding to stay at the White House and quotes sources with direct knowledge of the planning as saying that some American military personnel and members of the intelligence community have cancelled their plans for Memorial Day weekend.
Another report by the Axios news site said that Trump recently met with top members of his national security team to discuss Iran, with sources saying that he is seriously weighing new strikes unless there is an eleventh hour breakthrough in the talks.
The report added that Trump has “grown increasingly frustrated about the negotiations with Iran over the past several days,” with his position through the week shifting from favoring diplomacy toward ordering a strike. He is yet to make a decision, however.
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imperdoável, forget cuba. toca a ir lá para férias, já! toda a gente de jeito tem que ir para cuba passar umas férias calientes. há com certeza aviões.