AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
President Trump posted on social media yesterday that the U.S. and Iran are close to a deal on ending the war. But the president acknowledged that details are still being worked out, and Iran is already disputing some of what Trump is saying. For what's known about this agreement and what's not, we're joined by NPR's Jane Arraf in Beirut and NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre in Washington. Thanks to both of you for being here.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: Greg, can you tell us more about what President Trump said in his statement?
MYRE: Yeah. The president's Truth Social post on Saturday said an agreement has been largely negotiated but still needs to be finalized. And he went on to say he expected a deal to be announced soon. Now, we should stress, this is a president who often gets ahead of himself when it comes to negotiations. He's acknowledging this is not a done deal, and he didn't provide specifics. He did say the Strait of Hormuz will be opened, but again, no details. And in that original post on Saturday, the president made no mention of Iran's nuclear program. But in a new post on Sunday, Trump said the ongoing negotiation would prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
RASCOE: Jane, what's Iran saying?
ARRAF: Well, there's been no official public response. You know, Iran responds in its own time. But there are comments from semiofficial Iranian news agencies indicating that the two sides are pretty far apart on some key issues. One of those agencies said Trump's statement indicating there was a deal on Hormuz was, quote, "inconsistent with reality." And they indicate that talks are moving towards an initial agreement but that there are key issues unresolved. Among those appear to be the - what Iran wants to be the immediate unfreezing of some Iranian funds in exchange for allowing access through that waterway. And as Greg pointed out, the nuclear issue - Iran is also insistent that it has not made any concessions.
RASCOE: Greg, heading into this weekend, the president was warning that he might relaunch attacks on Iran. Can you explain how this changed direction so quickly?
MYRE: Yeah. Very good point. I mean, ever since the ceasefire took effect in - on April 7, President Trump's approach has included talk of an imminent peace deal and the threat that he could resume hostilities at any moment. It's really his negotiating style. So there was a lot of speculation that the U.S. might resume attacks this weekend, but the U.S. and Iran have been exchanging proposals via Pakistan.
Now, all this back and forth should make us cautious about what comes next. And based on the limited information we have, it sounds like we're talking about a broad framework intended to solidify the current ceasefire, allow some breathing room to work out these really tough issues like the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear program. And just to add, the - if the war does end more or less where we are now, President Trump will have fallen far short of the goals he's laid out, and he's already facing some criticism from some Republicans.
RASCOE: Jane, Iran has been raising a host of other issues it wants addressed. Could you talk about that?
ARRAF: Absolutely. A lot of those are economic. It desperately needs relief because U.S. sanctions basically have collapsed its economy. And for Iran, it's not just a financial issue. It's a destabilization issue, as in the anti-government protests that we've seen there. So in the near term, it wants to unfreeze part of those Iranian funds during the first phase. And in the longer term, it wants to keep control over the Strait of Hormuz. And then on the military side, Iran has insisted that the agreement include a commitment by the U.S. to withdraw military forces from around Iran. That's also to be determined, and the timing of that is to be determined, and that is one of Iran's key demands.
RASCOE: Greg, Israel has also been involved in attacking and being attacked by Iran. Any word yet on Israel's view of this possible deal?
MYRE: Trump said he had a good call with Israel's leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But we know from Netanyahu's previous statements that he would like to keep the military campaign going. Now, our NPR colleague in Israel, Daniel Estrin, has been in touch with some Israeli officials who've spoken to him on condition of anonymity. One official described the emerging deal as a bad one because it would give Iran too much control over the Strait of Hormuz. Another official said that in the Trump-Netanyahu conversation, Netanyahu stressed that even if there is a deal, Israel will still act against threats it perceives in the region, and that would include Lebanon, where Israel continues to attack.
RASCOE: Jane, is there a reaction from the Arab Gulf countries and others in the regions?
ARRAF: Well, there is a bit of a reaction, and I guess we should keep sight of the fact that the most basic part of this agreement is that the U.S. and Iran not attack each other, and this proposed agreement would include the allies of each country. So the key is here for Iran, that they are still insisting that an agreement include an end to the war in Lebanon. Israel has again invaded southern Lebanon, and it wants to keep attacking until it creates what it says is a buffer zone. There are other key players - Arab Gulf countries - and they seem very much to want to end this. They're pushing for continued dialogue.
RASCOE: Thank you both. NPR's Jane Arraf and Greg Myre.
ARRAF: Thank you.
MYRE: Sure thing, Ayesha. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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