Trump says US-Iran deal to be signed on Sunday

**Celia Hatten** (0:00)
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.
I'm Celia Hatin, and in the early hours of Sunday, the 14th of June, these are our main stories. The US-Iran war began in February. Could we reach the first phase of a deal? Our correspondent tells us what's still to be agreed. Plus international condemnation of ongoing Jewish settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

**Father Bashar Fawadli** (0:26)
There is a new mentality for new settlers who would to put a new outpost for themselves and would to occupy more land, would to kick the Palestinians out of this land.

**Celia Hatten** (0:36)
Switzerland votes whether to cap its population at 10 million.
Also in this podcast, Brazil and Morocco go head to head in the Football World Cup.
We begin with optimism from Washington and caution from Iran. President Trump says that both warring countries are scheduled to sign a deal on Sunday. While the Iranians are downplaying claims, they're on the brink of signing. Pakistan is a key mediator in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran conflict. And they've also said the deal was expected to be finalized within 24 hours, and they were preparing for the electronic signing. We must acknowledge that we've circled close to this moment before. Over the last few months, the Trump administration has repeatedly said an agreement was imminent. So what's different this time? Our correspondent, Joe Inwood, has this assessment. Joe starts with Mr. Trump's latest comments.

**Joe Inwood** (1:39)
The fact that he hasn't said we're nearly there. He has said a deal will be signed within 24 hours.
And that tallies with basically the same sentiment that's come from Shabazz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who's been mediating, who says a deal will be done in 24 hours. And even the Iranians, who have said we don't think it will be within 24 hours but are saying a deal is basically there. This is the first time we've had all three of the major parties involved in these talks all saying not we think it's almost there, but it is done. And I think that is why there is a legitimate feeling that this could be different.

**Celia Hatten** (2:14)
Do we know what's in this deal?

**Joe Inwood** (2:15)
Everyone agrees, it seems, that the Strait of Hormuz will be open as a consequence. That crucial waterway that we've spoken about so many times. That will be opened, both competing blockades, it seems, will be lifted.
There is talk, I think, of some economic restrictions being lifted on Iran. So whether it's some of their assets being unfrozen, there was talk indeed of that already happening from the UAE today, or whether it is going to be some of the sanctions being lifted. So those are the major things. Really, what's important here, I think, is what is not included, because really what we're not getting to are really, really thorny issues. The things which, before this all started, were posing diplomatic problems for the Americans. Things like the nuclear file, what to do with the highly enriched uranium, what to do about proxies. From the Iranians' point of view, what to do about American military presence around the region. Well, all of that is not being dealt with in this. And what they're doing is saying, right, we'll open the strait, we won't fight for 60 days.
And all the really difficult things would be massive global diplomatic headaches for years and years and years. We'll deal with those in the next 60 days. So yes, this is clearly positive, but it is not the end of the story.

**Celia Hatten** (3:30)
When it comes to the signing of a deal, presumably both sides want to present this deal in terms that are favorable to them. Will that also factor into the timing of when a deal signed?

**Joe Inwood** (3:43)
So one of the things that was really interesting is that we've now got from specifically from Shabash Sharif that it is going to be done digitally. So what we won't be getting is the big kind of grand ceremony that we might have expected, which maybe the Pakistanis might have wanted. Because let's be honest, the Pakistanis have done a really, really good job here of bringing these two warring sides together. They're probably not going to get their big summit moment. In terms of what both sides want to present, you're absolutely right. For both sides, they need to say we've got some sort of victory here. Now for the Iranians, many people have said them just surviving this is a victory.
They're not going to be getting large compensation packages out. But they might be getting, although, you know, reparations as they would put it, but they might be getting the unfreezing of assets. They might be getting the lifting of sanctions. The Americans, the really important thing is for Donald Trump to be able to, and in fact he says it right in the top of his social media post. He starts off by criticising what's called the JCPOA, the deal that President Obama signed and that he pulled out of. He needs to be able to say at the end of this that the deal he has got is in some way better than that one. And that is the question that many people, critics of the president and former supporters of the president are asking.