Inside the Iran deal that is 75-80% there, could be done in next few days, official says

WASHINGTON — A senior US official said Friday there’s a 75% to 80% chance that American and Iranian officials will sign a peace agreement in the “next few days.”“We have received assurances from Pakistan and Qatar that Iranians are ready to sign,” the official told a small group of journalists — after President Trump announced a day earlier a deal had been reached.“We don’t count our chickens before they’re hatched.Do we have a deal yet? No.

But as the president said, we’ve agreed to the concepts, but no deal until it’s signed.”The official said Friday, “we feel 75-80 percent certain we’ll be signing this in the next few days but there’s always some level of uncertainty when you’re dealing with Iran.”Dozens of prior announcements have claimed a deal is near, but Trump administration officials insist that peace is truly within reach.Vice President JD Vance was expected to travel to Europe to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iranian officials — after Vance led in-person talks in Pakistan on April 11-12.It’s unclear when the deal would be ready to sign, and no immediate travel plans have been announced. The MOU would not settle all details, but would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while beginning the process of sanctions relief and setting the stage for final talks on destroying Iran’s estimated 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium.American officials have entertained face-saving options for Iran that would allow for the uranium to be diluted on-site, or transferred to a neutral third country such as Pakistan for destruction.The US has denied reports that Iran would receive any money upfront upon signing and insisted that any financial relief would come only if Iran fulfills its obligations.

Long-running disagreements over the MOU included Iran’s effort to secure $6 billion in assets held by Qatar to purchase food and medical supplies.Peace efforts have been beset by poor communications and factions on ...