Trump tells negotiators not to rush Iran deal

US President Donald Trump said he has told negotiators not to rush into a deal with Iran.

The proposed agreement would extend a ceasefire for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set up further talks on Iran's nuclear program.

In a social media post, Trump said the talks are constructive but both sides must take their time and get it right.

On Saturday, Trump said an agreement had been largely negotiated. Iranian officials gave similar signals over the weekend. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the two sides are both very close and very far from reaching an agreement.

US media reported that the deal would leave some issues for later talks, including the scope and timing of sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and US demands that Iran curb its nuclear ambitions.

On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Delhi that there is a pretty solid thing on the table for opening the strait and entering a real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter.

Senator Ted Cruz called the plan a disastrous mistake. Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said a 60-day ceasefire would mean everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught.

Representative Mike Lawler, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration has forced the remnants of this regime into a real negotiation.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf and closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas travels. Oil prices rose sharply around the world.

After a ceasefire was agreed in early April, the US set up a blockade of Iranian ports. Trump said the blockade will stay in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.

In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran must understand it cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran has said its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

Some US media reports suggest the deal could include Iran agreeing to hand over its highly enriched uranium.

At the start of the war, Iran was thought to have about 440kg of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV that Iran is ready to assure the world that it is not after a nuclear weapon.

Rubio said significant but not final progress had been made and hinted that recent progress could result in a completely open strait without tolls.