The United States and Iran could restart negotiations as early as next week in Islamabad, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, mediators from both sides have been drafting a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding intended to set the framework for a month-long negotiating process to try to end the conflict.
The proposed draft reportedly touches on Iran’s nuclear program, measures to reduce tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and possible arrangements for transferring Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles to another country. Several significant issues remain unresolved, chief among them the scope and conditions of potential sanctions relief for Tehran — a topic that could complicate or delay progress.
If talks move forward, the initial one-month dialogue could be extended by mutual agreement, the report said.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump said on Friday he expected an Iranian response later that day to Washington’s proposal aimed at ending the West Asia confrontation. Speaking to reporters before traveling to a dinner at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, Trump said, “We’ll hear from them supposedly tonight.” Pressed on whether Iran was deliberately delaying, he said he was unsure and added, “We’ll find out soon enough.”
Trump also disputed descriptions of the package as merely a “one-page” document, saying it contained broader commitments, including that Iran would not pursue nuclear weapons and would relinquish certain nuclear materials. He warned, however, that verbal agreements may not hold, saying, “They have agreed. When they agree, it doesn’t mean much because the next day they forget they agreed.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a diplomatic trip to Italy and the Vatican, said Washington was awaiting an Iranian reply and hoped it would be “a serious offer” that could lead to “a serious process of negotiation.” Rubio suggested that Iran’s internal political fractures and dysfunction could be affecting the timeline.
Regional tensions rose after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which prompted Iranian retaliatory actions and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route. A ceasefire brokered with Pakistani mediation took effect on April 8, but an initial round of talks in Islamabad on April 11 failed to secure a durable agreement. The truce was later extended by President Trump without a set end date.
Since April 13, the United States has maintained a naval posture targeting some Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway. This report draws on syndicated reporting from ANI and coverage referenced by The Wall Street Journal.
