Asked by the BBC if President Donald Trump was close to signing a deal, Vance said it was too early to say “when or if” the two sides would finalise an agreement, News.Az reports, citing the BBC.
Earlier on Thursday, US officials told the BBC the two countries had agreed a framework of a deal – known as a memorandum of understanding – pending the approval of Trump and Iran’s leadership.
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It would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days and launch talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported it had not been finalised or confirmed.
According to reports, the framework could allow “unrestricted” passage through the Strait of Hormuz and give Iran 30 days to remove mines from the narrow shipping passageway.
The US would also lift its blockade, and issue sanction waivers to allow Iran to resume selling oil.
Axios, which first reported a tentative agreement between the US and Iran on Thursday, said Trump had been briefed on the proposal but did not immediately sign off on it and would take a couple of days to consider it.
One-fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas and oil normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and its closure has impacted global fuel trade.
Speaking on Thursday evening, Vance said negotiators were “going back and forth on a couple of language points”, which include the “question of enrichment”.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re very close and we’re going to keep on working at it,” he told reporters.
The US has long demanded that Iran stop producing highly enriched uranium and dispose of its existing stockpile, which in theory could be used to create nuclear weapons.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Vance struck an optimistic tone as he spoke to reporters in Washington DC, saying the US believed the Iranians were negotiating in “good faith”.
On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported elements of what they described as an unofficial draft of a 14-point memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
The report included the lifting of Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports, the withdrawal of US forces from the “vicinity of Iran”, and the restoration of non-military traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran and Oman in control of the management and routing of vessels.
