Trump sets his red lines.. and Tehran receives draft memorandum of understanding

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wells said Wednesday that negotiations with Iran are going well, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump has clarified his red lines.

For his part, Trump said on Wednesday (May 27) in an interview with the BBC News network that Iran would not get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up highly enriched uranium.

He pointed out during a cabinet meeting that Iran is very interested in reaching a deal, but Washington is not yet satisfied with it.

Pakistan optimistic that an agreement will be reached soon

The  United States and Iran are close to reaching a one-page memorandum to end the war between them, a Pakistani source involved in the peace effort said Wednesday, confirming a report published by Axios on the same subject. 

"We will finish this very soon. We are getting close to that,"

"Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy," said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,  adding that "we are very optimistic that the current efforts will lead to a lasting agreement that will ensure sustainable peace and stability for the region."

Iranian TV: Draft agreement stipulates opening of the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian state television said Tehran had obtained an informal preliminary draft framework for a memorandum of understanding with the United States.

Under this framework, Iran will allow commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to pre-war levels within a month, he said, while the United States will withdraw its military forces from Iran's perimeter and lift the naval blockade imposed on it.

Axios: White House awaits Iran's responses

Axios quoted U.S. officials and informed sources as saying that the White House believes it is close to reaching an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and frame more detailed negotiations on the nuclear program.

The U.S. expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, the report said, noting  that the two sides have not yet actually agreed on anything, but said this is the closest the parties have come to an agreement since the war began.

The deal, which includes other provisions, will include Iran's commitment to a temporary halt to uranium enrichment, the United States agreeing to lift its sanctions, lifting the freeze on billions of dollars worth of Iranian funds and lifting restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios said.

The one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding is being negotiated between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and a number of Iranian officials directly and through intermediaries, the report said.

He pointed out that the memorandum in its current form will announce the end of the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the strait, curb Iran's nuclear program and lift US sanctions.

Axios said, citing a U.S. official, that Iran's restrictions on navigation through the strait and the U.S. naval blockade of Iran's ports will be gradually lifted over the 30-day period, and the official noted that U.S. forces would be able to reimpose the blockade or resume military operations if negotiations collapse.

Iran said earlier on Wednesday it would only accept a peace deal if it was "fair", after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended a naval mission to temporarily reopen the strait, which put pressure on a nearly month-old ceasefire.