Sawt Falasteen - US says Iran deal still possible, as Trump tempers expectations

The United States and Iran have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while mediators push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has imposed controls on Gulf shipping and the US has blockaded Iran's ports.

"We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today, I wouldn't read too much into it," Rubio said in New Delhi, referring to the potential agreement.

"We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open," he told reporters in the Indian capital, where he has been on an official visit.

Rubio's remarks come after Trump said Sunday that he had told his negotiators not to "rush" the deal, while both Washington and Tehran signalled progress towards an agreement.

"I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side," a Truth Social posted to the US president's official account said Sunday.

"The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified and signed."

In a separate post to Trump's Truth Social it read that the deal "has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the various other Countries."

Iran's Tasnim news agency said Sunday its information was that key clauses of a possible agreement remained "unresolved at this time," including the issue of frozen Iranian assets.

The war, which erupted after the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic republic on February 28 and saw Iran respond with missile and drone attacks across the region, has caused fluctuations in the market.

But the hint of optimism caused oil prices to plunge close to five percent on Monday.

The price of North Sea Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate slipped to $99.41 and $92.49 a barrel respectively.

- Nuclear issue -

Rubio told The New York Times that an agreement with Iran had gained regional support but a nuclear deal couldn't be achieved "in 72 hours on the back of a napkin."

"Right now, we have seven or eight countries in the region that are endorsing this approach, and we're prepared to move forward on this approach," he said.

Earlier, Rubio had said a bargain could be struck to end the regional war as early as Sunday, but Trump again reined in expectations.

A post on Trump's Truth Social read: "If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one," adding that "It isn't even fully negotiated yet."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he and Trump had agreed that "any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely."

- 'Lasting peace' -

Iranian officials confirmed the existence of a draft agreement but stressed that -- despite the long-standing US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment -- talks on the issue of Iran's contested nuclear program have been deferred for 60 days after any deal.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state television that Tehran was "still prepared to assure the world that we are not seeking nuclear weapons," but it was unclear if this promise would be enshrined in the text of the deal.

According to Iran's Fars news agency, "sanctions on oil, gas, petrochemicals and their derivatives would be temporarily lifted during the negotiation period so that Iran can freely sell its products."

Leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as representatives from Turkey and Pakistan, joined a call with Trump to discuss the deal on Saturday.

Pakistan, which mediated historic face-to-face negotiations between US and Iranian delegations in April, hopes to host another round of talks "very soon," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.

He said Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, who visited Tehran on Friday and Saturday, also joined the call, which moved "ongoing peace efforts forward."

- 'Back into chaos' -

Israel's military continued to pound what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon, despite an April 17 ceasefire -- broken by both sides.

Iran-backed Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the war by attacking Israel, starting on March 2, after US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader.

Rubio on Sunday accused Hezbollah of trying to plunge Lebanon "back into chaos" and condemned the group's "reckless" call to overthrow Lebanon's "democratically elected government."

He appeared to be responding to comments from Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's leader, who said that "the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government," given Israeli strikes and US sanctions on Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial institution that provides interest-free loans to Shia Muslims.

T.Khatib--SF-PST