Dawod responds: Will there be a deal between the US and Iran?

Nivette Dawod

Published 21.40

 

The tone has changed from Donald Trump. Photo: Alex Brandon /AP/TT

According to Trump, a deal is ready.

Iran says the exact opposite.

What happens now? Aftonbladet's foreign affairs reporter Nivette Dawod answers three questions about the talks between the US and Iran.

What has happened?

US President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that a deal between the US and Iran, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, was "largely" finished being negotiated.

The following days it sounded different: negotiators would not "rush into a deal", wrote Trump.

Iran says it has made several advances in the negotiations with the US, but:

- To say that this means that the signing of a deal is imminent - no one can claim that, says Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

          

         The opening of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the sticking points. Photo: Amirhosein Khorgooi /AP/           TT

Why can't they agree?

Several of these sticking points have been difficult to resolve for many years.

Trust between the parties is particularly low right now, since the US and Israel attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations.

The opening of the Strait of Hormuz is a particularly thorny issue. Iran controls the area, which has put world trade on the back burner. In response, the US has blocked Iran's ports, which has had severe economic consequences for the country.

Iran's enrichment of uranium - which can be processed into nuclear weapons - is another difficult issue, especially for Israel, which believes that Iran is a constant threat in the region.

         

         Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Photo: Stella Pictures/ Alamy Stock               Photo

What happens now?

Both parties are giving signals that talks are underway.

The agreement is said to involve a 60-day ceasefire, the US lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, certain exemptions to sanctions so that Iran can sell oil and that Iran in return will open the Strait of Hormuz.

But it is unlikely that the parties can agree on all of that.

It is more likely that a framework agreement will be concluded, where it is agreed that negotiations will continue.

The specific issues will need to be discussed further.

           
         Nivette Dawod is a foreign affairs reporter at Aftonbladet. Photo: Magnus Wennman