Iran says signing of memorandum of understanding with US ‘will not be tomorrow’

Iran said Saturday that the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States will not take place on Sunday, but may happen in the coming days. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the Islamabad MoU focuses on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, while the nuclear issue will not be discussed at this stage. "We will have to wait and see about the exact time of signing the memorandum; although it will not be tomorrow, the possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out," Baghaei added in statements carried by Tasnim News Agency. He said Iran must be “cautious,” citing what he called Washington’s “hesitation” in making comments about the process. "Our negotiating team has no plans to travel to Geneva or anywhere else in the next two days," Baghaei said. “We have to wait and see when will be the exact signing date.” He stressed that the possibility of concluding the memorandum of understanding in the coming days “is very high," according to the IRNA news agency. The spokesman said Iran has the right to receive what he called the cost of services rendered in the Strait of Hormuz. “According to international law, the Strait of Hormuz falls within the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman, and that sovereign rights in the strait belong to both countries,” he argued. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said early Saturday that Iran and the US are “closer to a peace deal than ever before,” with the deal expected to be finalized within the next 24 hours. “With finalization likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week,” Sharif said in a post on the US social media company X. The Pakistan-mediated negotiations have focused on ending hostilities between Iran and the United States, reopening the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic and reaching consensus on Iran's nuclear program. Iranian officials have repeatedly said a large portion of the text has already been agreed upon, while accusing Washington of slowing progress through shifting positions and contradictory statements. The region has remained on edge since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late February, triggering Iranian retaliation against Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key energy chokepoints.