US approves Qatar-presented draft deal with Iran: sources

The United States approved a draft memorandum of understanding that Qatari mediators presented to Iran a day ago, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

“The mediation team briefed Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the memorandum, which they also approved,” the sources told Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The newspaper said Washington and Tehran have made concessions regarding Iran’s nuclear programme and frozen assets.

“Tehran will announce a concession on its nuclear programme in return for Washington announcing the release of part of Iran’s frozen assets,” the sources said, noting that the announcements would be made simultaneously.

Discussions are underway on arrangements for both sides to announce the agreement simultaneously, including initial steps and an interim deal that would pave the way for renewed negotiations.

Separately, Iran said that Washington’s response to its demands was “not convincing”, insisting that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only after the US fulfilled seven Iranian conditions.

“The US response to Iran’s rights and demands was not convincing,” Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said on X.

“They must respond fully and explicitly to Iran’s seven conditions and fulfil them. Only then will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened,” he added.

Tehran’s reported seven conditions include a ceasefire across the Middle East, the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.

The demands also include ending the US naval blockade, paying war reparations, withdrawing US forces and ending threats and interference.

Tensions in the Middle East have remained high since the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28. Tehran retaliated by targeting Israel and US assets in the region before a ceasefire agreement was reached in April.

Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, but its implementation stalled over disagreements concerning security in the strait.

Mediation efforts

Earlier, Qatar said the United States and Iran were committed to mediation efforts and were reviewing proposals aimed at bridging their differences.

Read More: US strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island as IRGC claims downing of two more US MQM-170 drones

“Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process; as we mentioned, we are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters, according to Reuters and Al-Arabiya.

“We remain hopeful that there is still a chance for a deal to set the environment for future negotiations”, he said.

Qatar said that both the United States and Iran remained committed to mediation efforts and were reviewing proposals put forward by mediators. While the Qatari team that travelled to Tehran had since returned to Doha, talks were continuing, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.

“There are intensive joint regional efforts underway to avoid escalation,” he told a news briefing, adding that the “bridging” of gaps “is ongoing”

Three tankers hit mines in Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy quoted as saying

Three oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday after entering unauthorised shipping lanes with their navigation and identification systems switched off, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy as saying.

The vessels were left burning off the southern coast of the strait, the IRGC Navy said, warning ships against ignoring Iranian regulations and cooperating with the US military to transit unauthorised routes.

Iran-US deal still out of reach despite diplomatic push, Iranian official says

Iran and the United States remain far from a deal to end the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, despite intensified diplomatic efforts to avert a return to major conflict after the US midterm elections.

Overnight, the US carried out “defensive” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island, with a US official saying the strikes targeted surface-to-air missiles used against US assets. Another official said the strikes appeared to be limited and did not signal a resumption of major combat operations.

“Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington,” the senior Iranian official said, after Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal that has been under negotiation for the past eight days.

“Tehran’s conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened,” the Iranian official cautioned, referring to the waterway critical for global energy supplies.

The Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said nuclear talks could only start after Iran’s conditions were fulfilled and that Tehran would not accept Washington’s “excessive demands”.

Tehran would respond forcefully, in the region and beyond, to US strikes, the official added.

Oil prices rose by about $1 on Tuesday, having dropped more than 7% the previous day on hopes diplomacy was progressing.

Additionally, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they downed a US MQ-9 drone and two Lucas drones in the skies near the Strait of Hormuz.