The US-Iran diplomatic saga just took its most consequential turn yet. President Donald Trump has accepted a counter-proposal from Iran and is engaging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside leaders from several Gulf nations as negotiations push toward what Iranian officials are calling the “final stage.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed that the two sides are now in the process of drafting a memorandum of understanding.
What’s on the table
The negotiations span a few of the most sensitive topics in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Sanctions relief for Iran, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the ever-thorny question of Iran’s nuclear program are all part of the conversation.
The Strait of Hormuz matters here more than most people realize. Roughly a fifth of the world’s petroleum passes through that narrow waterway.
