Pakistan believes the United States (US) and Iran can sign a temporary agreement to end the conflict as soon as this week.
"The signing of the agreement is expected to be carried out at any time this week, because the two parties still differ on some operational issues," a Pakistani government source told Anadolu, Monday, May 25.
"This is not some kind of impasse," the source continued, saying that both sides had in principle agreed on a draft "one-page" agreement while continuing to discuss operational issues related to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
According to the source, the remaining differences relate to implementation, not broader political principles.
"The main dispute at the moment is the presence of US forces near Iranian territorial waters even after the blockade ends," one of the sources said.
The source added that Washington wants to maintain a military presence in the region, while "Tehran wants a situation like before the war."
The sources said Pakistan along with regional mediators are seeking a compromise formula to bridge the remaining differences.
Good intentions and commitment from all parties
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran and Washington had reached conclusions on "most" of the issues discussed, but cautioned against assuming an agreement was imminent.
"It is true that it can be said that we have reached conclusions on most of the issues discussed," Baqaei told reporters in Tehran.
"However, to say this means that the signing of an agreement will be carried out immediately, no one can make such a claim," he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said on Monday that there would likely be developments in the negotiations in the near future.
"The work is still going on. We think there may be news last night, maybe today...", Rubio told reporters in New Delhi.
Pakistani sources said the two sides would likely eventually reach a temporary deal "sooner or later," but warned that maintaining the deal could be much more difficult.
They said the second phase of the talks would likely address more technically sensitive and complex issues, including Iran's nuclear program, management of enriched uranium stocks, and long-term arrangements related to the Strait of Hormuz.
The source said that achieving an agreement on "very complex" issues such as the nuclear issue would not be "easy."
They said the mediators had proposed several possible frameworks for dealing with the nuclear issue, including a similar model of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and a third-party monitoring mechanism involving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"Solving complex issues like this always requires good intentions and commitment from all parties," said one source.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran in February. Tehran then retaliated with attacks targeting Israel and US allies in the Gulf region, accompanied by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The ceasefire came into effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation and was later extended indefinitely by US President Donald Trump.
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