U.S. Says Iran Deal Is Nearing Completion as Internal Iranian Split Widens

A senior U.S. official said Friday evening that Washington and Tehran are close to an agreement, claiming they have reached consensus on the destruction and removal of Iran’s enriched material and that the United States would receive it. He said the deal would amount to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and said the talks were in the “final stretch,” with a signature expected in the coming days.

The official said the agreement would include a monitoring regime for Iran’s activities. If Tehran complies, he said, it would be rewarded economically and could see a significant easing of sanctions. He repeated a recent U.S. line that the Iranians would receive nothing simply for signing, and said a 60-day technical negotiation period would follow the signing. A final signing location has not been decided, though Europe is being considered, with Geneva mentioned earlier in the day.

He also said Washington expects Israel to cooperate with the deal and that once Jerusalem sees the full terms, it will “feel comfortable” with it. He added that the process was one that “Iran and the United States like,” and said the new Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, feels comfortable with where the negotiations stand. In Washington’s view, he said, there will be “minimal opposition” inside Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran’s state-linked Fars News Agency launched an unusual attack on Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi after he said earlier that a deal was close. Fars argued that Araghchi’s wording was vague and effectively helped President Donald Trump’s narrative, especially after Trump reposted Araghchi’s message on his own social platform. Trump’s post was described by Fars as reinforcing his claim that some reports were “fake” and that Iran had privately apologized.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that in any diplomatic process each side tries to frame its own story, adding that Iran has been transparent about the talks, which are being mediated by Pakistan. He said the text is in its final internal stages, relevant institutions are meeting, and the country cannot yet comment on the time or place of signing.