US could need six months to reach Iran deal - Bloomberg

US and Iranian negotiators have scaled back ambitions for a comprehensive peace deal and are instead seeking a temporary memorandum to prevent a return to conflict, Reuters reported, citing two Iranian sources.

A senior Iranian official cited by Reuters said the two sides had begun narrowing some gaps, including over management of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran wants any memorandum to include the unfreezing of some of its funds in exchange for allowing more ships through the strait, the official said.

The Iranian sources said the United States is demanding a halt to Iran's nuclear enrichment work for 20 years, while Iran wants to limit it to three to five years. Tehran also wants a timetable for lifting sanctions of UN, US and EU, they said.

While Iran was not ready to send all its highly enriched uranium (HEU) abroad, part of it could be sent to a third country, the report cited one of the sources as saying.

The US military has released a list of Iranian goods it considers contraband under its blockade, saying such items may be seized from merchant vessels regardless of location.

In a notice published on Thursday, the US military said goods destined for an enemy and susceptible to use in armed conflict are subject to capture beyond neutral territory.

The list classifies arms and ammunition as “absolute contraband” and designates items such as oil, iron, steel, aluminum and certain civilian goods as “conditional contraband,” citing their potential military use.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman has sharply criticized Western sanctions, describing them as “economic terrorism and state-sponsored extortion” in response to recent remarks by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“It is utterly abominable how policies that deliberately inflict pain and suffering on innocent people are presented with smug self-righteousness,” he wrote on X.

“These are nothing short of economic terrorism and state-sponsored extortion — actions that amount to crimes against humanity and, in their cumulative effect, constitute genocide.”

The comments came after Bessent said the United States was “moving aggressively” with sanctions targeting Iranian networks linked to oil trading and financing activities.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said it is not in the interest of the United States or its allies for Russia to emerge as the winner of the war involving Iran.

“It’s not in our interest and it cannot be in the interest of the United States,” Klingbeil said in Washington on Thursday.

He made the remarks in a joint appearance with the finance ministers of Ukraine and Norway on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings.

US forces enforcing a maritime blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports have turned back 14 vessels in the first 72 hours of the operation, according to US Central Command.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said the vessels complied with instructions from American forces and turned around rather than attempt to breach the blockade.

“U.S. forces are focused, vigilant, and highly motivated as they execute a blockade on vessels attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports,” the command said.