Officials say mediators are still working with Iran and the US on a possible deal

Mediators are still working with Iran and the United States on a deal to end fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with indirect talks expected to resume Monday, three official... Mediators are facilitating talks between Iran and the U.S. to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Discussions, mediated by Qatar, are set to resume as both sides navigate proposals and conditions. CAIRO (AP) — Three officials tell The Associated Press that mediators were still working with Iran and the United States on a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz, with the indirect talks expected to resume on Monday. The details were revealed as the war enters its eighth month after causing widespread economic suffering.

Multiple efforts to allow safe shipping on one of the world’s most crucial waterways have failed. There was uncertainty over the weekend after President Donald Trumptold journalists he had rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to reopen the strait in a week if the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, releases frozen Iranian assets and waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

Iran’s foreign minister, however, remained in New York and said he awaited word from mediators. The deal would first reopen the strait and lift the US blockade Two of the officials speaking to the AP on Monday confirmed that mediators are working with both sides on a proposal that would include reopening the strait and lifting the U.S. blockade, and then removing sanctions.

According to the draft text being discussed, the strait would reopen in accordance with a separate deal that Iran has been discussing with Oman, on the other side of the strait, and it would include no tolls — something Tehran has pursued. That deal seeks to temporarily manage shipping traffic on what was seen as an international waterway before the war. The two officials also said that despite Trump’s public comments, the U.S.

has not officially rejected the current proposal, indicating that his remarks may have been a negotiating tactic. The third official said the U.S is seeking Iranian concessions on its nuclear program, including allowing inspectors to enter the country. Under the Memorandum of Understanding the two sides signed in June that collapsed within days, Iran’s nuclear program was meant to be discussed over a 60-day period.