WASHINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The first phase of reopening the Strait of Hormuz will include lifting the U.S. blockade, The Washington Post reported Monday, citing an Iranian official.
"An Iranian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the opening of the Strait will be phased," said the report, noting that in the first phase, the United States will release 12 billion U.S. dollars in frozen Iranian assets, minesweeping in the strait will begin, and the U.S. blockade will be lifted.
The memorandum of understanding between the two sides does not include a nuclear agreement, just a pledge to negotiate the nuclear issue later, the Iranian official was cited as saying.
However, the report also cited a senior U.S. official as saying that the memorandum of understanding "commits" the Iranians to not having a nuclear weapon, including "giving up the nuclear dust."
Also on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social that negotiations with Iran are "proceeding nicely."
"It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all -- Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before -- And nobody wants that!" Trump said.
Earlier that day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, "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, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matters, and hopefully we can pull it off." ■
