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DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) – U.S. and Pakistani leaders forecast a Sunday signing of a long-elusive framework agreement to end months of fighting between the United States and Iran, but Tehran cast doubt over the timing and hardline protesters in Iran voiced opposition.
Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning as part of an effort to finalise the agreement, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump posted that the deal with Iran was scheduled to be signed on Sunday, his 80th birthday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing, to be followed by technical-level talks in the coming week.
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, speaking before Trump’s post, was quoted by state media as saying on Saturday it would “not be tomorrow” but could happen “in the coming days.”
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that, under the terms of the draft deal, the U.S. would agree to release $25 billion of frozen Iranian assets, while Tehran would agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.
Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier that after a framework deal is signed, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies that Iran has effectively blocked, would immediately be “open to all”.
Even as the U.S. and Iran appeared to be moving toward an agreement over the past few days, clashes have continued, as the U.S. military maintains a blockade on Iran and seeks to loosen Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which was the conduit for 20% of the world’s oil shipments before the war.
Early on Saturday, U.S. forces shot down multiple Iranian drones heading toward the strait, the U.S. military said.
Israel, which says it is not a party to the U.S.-Iran deal, said on Sunday it had attacked Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs after it said the Iranian ally had fired three projectiles at northern Israel.
The exchange highlighted the precarious nature of the negotiations, with Israel saying it will retain freedom of operations in Lebanon while Tehran has made a full ceasefire there an important component of its demands.
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