Photo : YONHAP News
Iran says it has made progress in the negotiations for a memorandum of understanding to end the war with the U.S., but that an agreement is “not imminent.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a briefing on Monday that the two sides made progress “on a large portion of the discussion topics,” according to Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and other news agencies.
Still, he cautioned that this does not mean the two sides are close to signing a deal, citing what he called institutional uncertainty in American politics and decision-making.
The spokesman said such uncertainties present hurdles for any discussions and added that Iran will draw on its past experiences, keep a close watch on the diplomatic stage, and defend its national interests.
The remark about “past experiences” appears to refer to the Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018, and the subsequent campaign of “maximum pressure” that reinstated severe economic sanctions on Iran.