Iran Says 'Main Part' of Understanding with US Resolved, but Accuses Washington of Undermining It

Iran stated on Thursday that the ‘main part’ of a text of understanding with the United States has been completed, but accused Washington of undermining the progress by changing its position. Speaking on Iranian state television, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeli Baghaei said Tehran had made clear it would not accept what he termed ‘illegitimate’ demands during indirect contacts with the US. ‘The main part of the text of understanding has been resolved,’ Baghaei said, adding that Washington’s ‘contradictory positions’ were disrupting the process. He said the US had tried in recent days to impose ‘unusual demands’ on Tehran, but Iran demonstrated it would never yield to illegitimate conditions. Baghaei also said the diplomatic track had been affected by what he called illegal US actions against Iran. He noted mediators remain active and Tehran has conveyed its position to them very clearly. The remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump said he had called off a planned attack on Iran and that discussions and final details of a potential deal had been approved by various regional and international parties. Trump said he had cancelled plans for US strikes and bombing against Iran after a draft peace agreement was approved by the ‘highest levels’ of Iranian leadership and several countries in the region. ‘Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest levels of Iranian leadership and approved, I, as President of the United States, have cancelled the schedule of strikes and bombing against Iran tonight,’ he wrote on Truth Social. ‘The discussions and final points, both in concept and detail, have been approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, and others,’ he said. ‘The naval blockade will remain in full effect until this transaction is completed – the time and place of signing will be announced soon.’