A peace deal between the United States and Iran could take around six months to be agreed upon, officials from both the Middle East and Europe told Bloomberg.
The officials recommended that the existing ceasefire between the US and Iran be extended, so as to allow for a more suitable timeframe in which to make the deal.
The Strait of Hormuz being opened is a key issue in the deal, the officials said, and Gulf Arab and European leaders want it open as soon as possible, in order to restore the flow of energy through the region, as well as avert a potential global food shortage.
US, Iran, scaling back peace ambitions
US and Iranian negotiators have scaled back ambitions for a comprehensive peace deal and are instead seeking a temporary memorandum to prevent a return to conflict, Reuters reported, citing two Iranian sources.
A senior Iranian official cited by Reuters said the two sides had begun narrowing some gaps, including over management of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran wants any memorandum to include the unfreezing of some of its funds in exchange for allowing more ships through the strait, the official said.
The Iranian sources said the United States is demanding a halt to Iran's nuclear enrichment work for 20 years, while Iran wants to limit it to three to five years. Tehran also wants a timetable for lifting sanctions of UN, US and EU, they said.
While Iran was not ready to send all its highly enriched uranium (HEU) abroad, part of it could be sent to a third country, the report cited one of the sources as saying.