Tehran evaluating U.S. proposal to end war, but Iranian lawmaker calls it 'American wish list'

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The U.S. Believes it is close to reaching a preliminary agreement with Iran to end the war, according to a report by Axios.

A proposed one-page memorandum of understanding would "declare an end to the war" and launch a 30-day period of talks toward a broader deal that would include detailed nuclear negotiations, according to the U.S.-based publication.

Sources reportedly told Axios that the talks are "the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began."

The draft framework would see Iran commit to a nuclear enrichment moratorium, while the U.S. Would lift sanctions and release billions in frozen funds. 

It would also ease restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz, with measures gradually rolled back during the negotiation window. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the process is complex, saying, "we don't have to have the actual agreement written in one day," but cautioned it remains unclear whether Iran’s leadership will ultimately agree to the terms.

This is hardly the first time that Trump has claimed a deal with Iran was close at hand. Here are some examples of the U.S. President doing so, only for the two sides to fail to get an agreement in place.

March 23: Trump said he was postponing strikes on Iranian power plants for five days, citing "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East."

March 30: Trump said "great progress is being made" in talks with Iran, but also threatened "completely obliterating" power plants and oil wells if the Strait of Hormuz was not immediately reopened. 

April 1: Trump claimed "Iran's new regime president" had asked for a ceasefire. Iran's foreign ministry promptly called that "false and baseless."

April 9: One day after the U.S. And Iran agreed to a ceasefire, Trump called Iran's proposal for a full-fledged peace deal "a workable basis on which to negotiate." Two days later, the ensuing talks in Islamabad ended with no deal. 

April 14: Trump and U.S. Officials floated that face-to-face negotiations could resume in a matter of days. That didn't happen. 

April 20: Trump indicated that he still expects his negotiating team, led by U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, to go back to Islamabad for a second round of talks. That didn't happen, either. 

April 24: Trump said he was sending White House envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Islamabad to meet with Iran's foreign minister. A day later he announced he'd told them not to go. 

May 5: Citing "the fact that great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran," Trump announced he was pausing Project Freedom, the U.S. Military plan to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz that his top cabinet officials had been promoting only hours earlier. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is meeting China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing today.

China is seen as a possible key intermediary due to its close economic ties with Tehran as a key buyer of its oil. U.S. Officials have urged Beijing to pressure Iran to reopen the waterway.

Attacks have continued in the region, including strikes reported by the U.A.E. And damage to cargo ships, while major shipping companies say it is still too risky to resume transit.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they will ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz if U.S. Pressure subsides.

In its first response to Washington pausing efforts to escort ships, the guards' navy said new procedures are in place, without detailing what they are. It also thanked ship captains for complying with Iranian rules in the waterway.

Late Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. Is temporarily halting its effort to guide stranded ships out of the strait to allow time for negotiations with Iran.

He described the conflict as a "skirmish" and claimed the U.S. Has "total control," adding Iran "wants to make a deal."

The U.S. Naval blockade of Iranian ports has remained in place.

Global markets rallied sharply and oil prices plunged on optimism that the U.S. And Iran are nearing a deal to end the war.

Brent crude dropped 10.6 per cent to about $98 US a barrel, while the U.S. Dollar fell 0.55 per cent against major currencies. 

Bond yields also declined, with the U.S. 10-year yield down seven basis points to 4.35 per cent. 

European stocks led gains, with the STOXX 600 up 2.6 per cent, while MSCI's global index rose 0.9 per cent to a record high. 

U.S. S&P 500 futures also climbed 0.9 per cent, building on the index’s 0.8 per cent gain a day earlier. 

In Asia, shares jumped even more, with the regional index outside Japan up 3.2 per cent, and Samsung Electronics surging 14 per cent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar fell against most major currencies, as the euro and British pound strengthened. 

The Japanese yen rose by as much as 1.8 per cent in a swift move that left the U.S. Dollar at a session low of 155, around its weakest since Feb. 24. This sparked speculation Tokyo had again intervened to support the currency.

The euro rallied sharply, rising 0.8 per cent to $1.1785, as did sterling, which traded at $1.364. The Australian dollar traded around its highest in four years, rising 1.1 per cent on the day to $0.726, in the wake of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision the previous day to raise rates for the third time this year. 

The markets are now gearing up for the U.S. Non-farm payrolls release later this week, which will serve as a test of whether the economy remains resilient enough to keep the Federal Reserve's monetary policy on hold, or whether a softening labour market could revive the case for interest rate cuts.

Reuters

A senior Iranian parliament member said on Wednesday that the text of a U.S. Proposal for an agreement with Iran to end the war — included in the Axios report — was "more of an American wish list than a reality."

"Americans will not gain anything in a war they are losing that they have not gained in face-to-face negotiations," Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for parliament's foreign policy and national security committee posted on X.

In a social media post Wednesday morning, Trump said the strait could re-open to all shipping — including Iran — if Tehran agrees to terms he claims are already in place. 

But the U.S. President once again warned of sharp escalation if it does not. 

"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end," Trump wrote. 

"If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before." 

The U.S. Believes it is close to reaching a preliminary agreement with Iran to end the war, according to a report by Axios.

A proposed one-page memorandum of understanding would "declare an end to the war" and launch a 30-day period of talks toward a broader deal that would include detailed nuclear negotiations, according to the U.S.-based publication.

Sources reportedly told Axios that the talks are "the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began."

The draft framework would see Iran commit to a nuclear enrichment moratorium, while the U.S. Would lift sanctions and release billions in frozen funds. 

It would also ease restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz, with measures gradually rolled back during the negotiation window. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the process is complex, saying, "we don't have to have the actual agreement written in one day," but cautioned it remains unclear whether Iran’s leadership will ultimately agree to the terms.

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