Trump sent proposed Iran deal back with changes, insists on tougher language around Hormuz, nuclear program: Report

After meeting with his advisers on Friday to make a "final determination," US President Donald Trump reportedly sent back changes to the proposed deal with Iran.

Citing officials, CNN reported that the proposed changes have now extended the back-and-forth negotiations into another week. While the exact changes to the text weren't made immediately clear, officials said that Trump has insisted on tougher language around Tehran's nuclear commitments and its pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that has been shut since US and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic in late February.

Trump also expressed concerns about what financial relief Tehran might get as part of the deal, keen to avoid comparisons with the “pallets of cash” that were delivered under the Obama-era nuclear deal he derides as weak.

What does the current deal include?

Sources told Axios that the US President has asked his team to make changes to the draft on clauses regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

Under the current deal, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) includes a commitment from Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapon, but lists no specific concessions beyond that.

The MOU also states that there will be a 60-day window to negotiate on Tehran's nuclear commitments and sanctions relief from Washington, with the first issues on the agenda being how to dispose of the Islamic Republic's enriched uranium stockpile and curb further enrichment, a part that Trump wants to amend.

What changes has Trump proposed?

A Trump administration official said, "It's more specifics about how the U.S. gets the material and the timing," referring to the enriched uranium.

Another said the US President also wants to amend some of the wording around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Reportedly, Trump has been informed that it would roughly take three days before Iran responds. The official said, "They're literally in caves, and they're not using email."

US-Iran war to end soon?

The latest set of proposed changes comes a week after the US President declared the deal with Iran was "largely negotiated" and signalled the end of the war was close.

Since then, US officials have signalled progress toward an agreement that would end hostilities, reopen the strait, and pave the way for more detailed talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.

However, despite the US President announcing that he would be making a "final determination" during Friday's meeting, and listing some of the deals on social media, the two-hour meeting concluded without any substantive decision.

Axios reported that a White House official told reporters after Trump's Situation Room meeting that the US President "will only make a deal that is good for America, satisfies his redlines and makes sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon."

A senior official from the Trump administration added, "There will be a deal. The imminence of it, we'll see. We're willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for. It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something."

US-Iran at odds over nuclear program

While Trump claimed that Washington would seize Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and destroy it, the Islamic Republic has reiterated that it will not discuss details of its nuclear program under the current negotiations.

The US President also stated that there had been no discussion of exchanging, as part of the proposed deal, a condition that Tehran says must be included in any agreement.

Iranian officials told state media that they had not approved the final text; however, two US officials claimed earlier in the week that the Islamic Republic was set to sign, and it was all down to Trump.

It remains to be seen if Tehran would agree to the proposed changes, or if the back-and-forth negotiations will extend into another week.