ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:
President Trump says he is closing in on a deal with Iran to end the war. Iran isn't confirming. There seems to be the basis, though, for a potential agreement, but it is still not clear what that would look like. NPR's Jane Arraf has been following developments in the Middle East and joins us from Beirut. Hi, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, Adrian.
FLORIDO: Jane, last night, President Trump said that he had, quote, "largely negotiated" an initial agreement with Iran to end the war. But as I said, we haven't heard the same from Iran. So tell us what we do know today.
ARRAF: Well, there's still official comment from Iran today on reports of the deal. But Iran's foreign ministry spokesman did say Saturday that there were narrowing differences between the two, but he noted caution. Now, Iranian's semiofficial media, which is often used for messaging by Iranian leaders, cast doubt on an imminent agreement and said there were disagreements on one or two key issues, serious disagreements. Now, the trickiest one could be on the issue of Iran's nuclear program. That issue seems to be being kicked further down the road because an initial agreement, if there is one, seems to deal with the Strait of Hormuz. But there, too, Adrian, there are serious sticking points, including Iran's insistence on unfreezing funds held by the U.S., it seems.
FLORIDO: Well, let's stick with the Strait of Hormuz for a moment. Tell us about the disagreement over the strait. The war with Iran started out with U.S. and Israeli attacks over Iran's nuclear program and of this idea of potentially forcing regime change in Iran. But now that waterway and its effect on the global economy seems to be center stage.
ARRAF: You're absolutely right. It has been an evolution. The effects of the war on the region and also on the world economy - on shipping, on oil prices - has been devastating. Now, President Trump in a social media post on Sunday said, quote, "the blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified and signed." The blockade he is referring to there is U.S. naval forces and other U.S. military assets that are around the Strait of Hormuz. Now, Iran has signaled it will reopen the strait to traffic but only if and when those U.S. military forces withdraw. And further down the line, Iran is also indicating it will insist on retaining control of the waterway.
FLORIDO: Well, Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Delhi today said that the agreement would ensure that Iran never build nuclear weapons. What do we know about that part of it?
ARRAF: Iran has indicated it hasn't gotten into those discussions on the nuclear issue. Of course, there have been lots of discussions on the issue. They've been going on for years. But it has indicated that in this phase of the agreement, in this phase of the talks, it hasn't really gotten into the subject yet. And Iran has repeatedly said it's not building a nuclear weapon. And recently, it's been hardening its position on demands to send out highly enriched uranium. It says its program is for peaceful purposes. And Iranian leaders see the enriched uranium issue and keeping it in Iran, as well as ability to have a peaceful nuclear program, as a sovereignty issue. And they have said repeatedly they won't back down on that.
FLORIDO: Well, Jane, we know that this is much wider than just the relationship between Iran and the United States. Specifically, Israel has played a really important role in U.S. decision-making on Iran policy. How is Israel responding to the news of a potential deal to end the war?
ARRAF: Well, it's really opposed to an agreement, because it seems to feel that that would stop the war without guarantees. So publicly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media that he spoke with Trump, and they agreed on a couple of things - on removing enriched uranium to outside the country from Iran and on Israel's right to defend itself. But privately, a senior Israeli official, in a statement to outlets, including NPR, said it was a bad deal. Israel sees it as an economic deal that doesn't address its security concerns.
FLORIDO: What about the other key players in this conflict, the gulf countries, Jane?
ARRAF: It is really hard to overemphasize how damaging this war has been to them. It has affected their economies. It's affected their security. It's affected even their perceptions of themselves in the region. They want this war stopped. Many of those leaders had a call with President Trump, and a Qatari statement later said they agreed that dialogue was the way forward with Iran.
FLORIDO: I've been speaking with NPR's Jane Arraf, reporting from Beirut, Lebanon. Thanks, Jane.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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