Trump says he read Iran deal draft, sides ‘getting a lot closer’ - CBS

Talks with Iran will fail unless the US shows flexibility, the IRGC-linked Fars news agency reported citing a source close to the Iranian negotiating team.

The source said Tehran would not discuss its nuclear program at this stage and would make any such talks conditional on US confidence-building measures.

Fars reported that the release of Iran’s blocked funds was among Tehran’s main conditions for starting negotiations, while the rules for ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz remained another point of dispute.

Despite Washington accepting some of Tehran’s positions, the three issues remain unresolved and Iran is preparing other options, Fars reported citing the source.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would decide by Sunday whether to resume the war with Iran after reviewing Tehran’s latest proposal with his negotiators, Axios reported citing an interview with the president.

Trump said it was a “solid 50/50” whether the sides could reach an agreement or “blow them to kingdom come.”

“I think one of two things will happen: either I hit them harder than they have ever been hit, or we are going to sign a deal that is good,” he told Axios.

He also dismissed suggestions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was concerned he might accept an unfavorable deal, saying Netanyahu was not “worried.”

Pakistan’s army said in a statement on Saturday that Field Marshal Asim Munir concluded a “highly productive” visit to Iran, where talks with senior Iranian officials made “encouraging progress” toward a final understanding.

“Negotiations over the last twenty-four hours have resulted in encouraging progress towards a final understanding," according to the statement, issued after Pakistani army chief and interior minister left Tehran earlier in the day.

“Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir concluded a short but highly productive official visit to Iran," it said. "Discussions remained focused upon expediting the consultative process underway to support peace and stability in the region."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday “some progress” had been made in talks on Iran and suggested there could be news later in the day, while cautioning that no breakthrough was certain.

"There may be news later today. I don't have news at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today," Rubio told reporters in New Delhi. "There may not be. I hope there will be, but I'm not sure yet."

"There's been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there's some work being done," he said. "There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say, but this issue needs to be solved, as the president said, one way or another."

The United States and Israel are debating whether removing Mojtaba Khamenei would destabilize the Islamic Republic or risk producing a more radical power structure and a fragile nuclear deal similar to the 2015 agreement, Israel Hayom reported.

The Israeli newspaper said the question had become a new point of discussion in political and security circles after the killing of Ali Khamenei, with officials weighing whether Mojtaba Khamenei’s survival provides a degree of manageable stability or whether his removal could weaken the system further.

The report described Mojtaba Khamenei as weak, wounded and lacking full authority, while saying Iran’s ruling structure still has a command system and can project continuity as long as a member of the Khamenei family remains at the top.

Israel Hayom said some officials believe removing him could trigger a succession crisis and create space for a more pragmatic faction to reach a deal with the West.

Others, the report said, warn there may be no real moderates ready to take power and that such a move could instead produce a more radical structure or another time-limited nuclear agreement viewed by Israel as insufficient.