President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely and won't receive frozen funds from the U.S., according to a new report.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Trump said Iran won't receive frozen funds as a result. He went on to claim that a new rounds of talks to aim at achieving a lasting agreement will take place this weekend.
Talk about the unfreezing of funds were reported by Axios, which claimed that parties were negotiating the release of $20 billion in exchange for Tehran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium.
The outlet detailed that Iran has about 2,000 kilograms of enriched uranium buried in underground facilities bombed by the U.S. last year, including 450 kilograms enriched to 60%, close to weapons grade.
Washington and Tehran, axios said, are negotiating what would happen to the stockpile and how Iran could use unfrozen funds. The U.S. initially offered $6 billion for Iran to buy food, medicine and humanitarian supplies, while Iran demanded $27 billion.
As for the stockpile, the U.S. demanded Iran send it over, while Iran said it could "down-blend" it inside the country. A compromise could involve sending part of it to a third country and down-blending the rest in Iran.
Regarding future nuclear work, Iran would be allowed research reactors to produce medical isotopes but pledge to keep all facilities above ground. The underground ones would remain out of commission.
In another step towards de-escalation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open for the remaining period" of the ceasefire with the U.S. following the one announced between Lebanon and Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open for the remaining period" of the ceasefire with the U.S. following the one announced between Lebanon and Israel.
Trump celebrated the development in a social media post: "IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!" he said.
The ceasefire in question was also announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday. It is set to last 10 days and involve negotiations between the countries.
The development follows a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials in the U.S. on Tuesday, where both parties agreed on the need to "liberate" the latter country from Hezbollah.
Originally published on IBTimes
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