Washington and Tehran stated that they have approached a possible agreement after lengthy negotiations. Both sides emphasize, however, that serious disagreements still remain.
The United States and Iran stated on Saturday that negotiations between the parties may be nearing a breakthrough, although a final agreement has not yet been reached.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with CBS that the parties are "getting closer" to an agreement. At the same time, the American leader warned Tehran of serious consequences in case the negotiations fail.
"If an agreement is not reached, we will have a situation where no country will ever suffer as much as it will," Trump stated.
For its part, Iran confirmed that there are still serious disagreements between the countries, but negotiations are gradually progressing.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei reported that the parties are currently working on a framework agreement consisting of 14 points. According to him, Tehran hopes to first agree on a basic memorandum of understanding before moving on to the details of the final deal.
"There is a trend towards rapprochement," Baghaei noted, but emphasized that this does not yet mean that an agreement has been reached on key issues.
He added that the development of the final details could take 30 to 60 days after the main document is prepared.
Optimistic signals also came from Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during a visit to India that "good news" could emerge in the coming days.
The negotiations are taking place amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the threat of further escalation between Iran, Israel, and the U.S.
The issue of Iran's nuclear program is particularly significant, but Tehran has made it clear that this topic will not be part of the initial framework agreement for now.
Even cautious optimism from both sides already appears to be a noticeable change after months of mutual threats and discussions of possible military scenarios.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has repeatedly warned of its readiness to take tough measures against Iran in case diplomacy fails, and U.S. media have reported on possible options for exerting military pressure.
While there is no final agreement yet, statements from both sides show that the negotiation process, despite the tension, continues.
