Iran circulated competing versions of a proposed interim agreement with the US, even as President Donald Trump stuck to his Sunday timeline to sign a deal.
All of the competing texts — there were at least three — include similar elements around reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, giving Iran sanctions relief and opening the door to longer-term negotiations around its nuclear program.
But they diverge in key respects, making it hard to assess how much of a win the deal will be for either side. A major discrepancy hinged on how much financial relief Iran would get immediately or in the future — a concern for Iran hawks in the US who don’t want Trump to give away too much.
The White House declined to comment even with time running out for the US and Iran to sign their agreement by Sunday — Trump’s 80th birthday — as the president had promised. On Sunday afternoon, Fox News cited Trump as saying a deal would be signed in two to three hours.
At one point earlier Sunday, the likelihood of a signing appeared to grow more remote after Israel’s military hit the Lebanese capital, saying it was targeting Hezbollah after the Iranian-backed group fired more projectiles into northern Israel. In a subsequent social media post, Trump said that Israel should stop attacking Lebanon.
