Iran peace deal in chaos as White House rejects Tehran’s report of draft as ‘complete fabrication’

Negotiations to end Donald Trump’s war in Iran were thrown into chaos again on Wednesday after the White House rejected reports in Iran state media of a draft peace deal as a “complete fabrication”.

The White House said the report from Tehran’s state TV about a memorandum ‌of understanding to pave the way for an end to the conflict was “not true”, suggesting both sides remain far from closing an agreement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian state TV reported that Tehran would restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month as part of the framework deal, which would also see the US withdraw forces from Iran's vicinity.

The report also said the US would end a naval ⁠blockade of Iranian shipping, citing a memorandum of understanding being negotiated between the two sides to end the war which has choked global energy supplies through the strategic waterway.

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Iranian state TV said it had obtained an unofficial draft of the agreement, but stressed it was not final and may not be agreed.

There was no mention ​of ⁠Iran's nuclear programme which the US wants disbanded - a key sticking point between the two sides.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday it may take a few more days to secure a deal, after President Donald ​Trump had raised hopes ⁠over the weekend for an imminent end to ‌the war.

Key sticking points have included reopening and management of the waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the conflict and the dismantling of Iran's nuclear capacity.

Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday after the Iranian TV report.

It was ‌not immediately clear what a US military pullback as described by Iranian state television ‌would look like.

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The US military has some 15,000 troops currently enforcing a blockade of Iran and has thousands of additional forces at bases throughout the region, including in Gulf states like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Iranian sources have said talks on the nuclear issue will come in a second round of negotiations - something that may not be acceptable to some of Trump's closest supporters.

Trump, who will meet with his top aides at the White House on Wednesday, has said dismantling Iran's nuclear programme to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon was the key aim of the war. Iran says the programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Earlier on Wednesday, a senior Iranian official told reporters on the sidelines of the first International Security Forum in Moscow that reopening the strait remained a sticking point

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