What the US and Iran agreed – and disagreed – on first day of talks

The United States has waived sanctions on Iranian oil for 60 days following the first day of talks for a peace deal, with US President Donald Trump saying he will “do what I have to do” if Iran does not stick to its side of the agreement. Direct talks between the US and Iran were triggered by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two sides last week. The parties have also established “a communication line” regarding the Strait of Hormuz to “avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”. Iran closed the strait, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped in peacetime, after US-Israeli attacks began at the end of February. This caused shockwaves through global energy markets, and the price of oil spiked. A joint statement released by mediators Qatar and Pakistan on Monday said: “Chief negotiators will report regularly to the High Level Committee and lead working groups focused on nuclear, sanctions, and a monitoring and dispute resolution group to ensure the effective implementation of the MoU, and on other matters.” But, besides sanctions relief, the two sides appear to disagree on what else they had agreed on. On Tuesday, Iranian state media reported that the US had also agreed to release $12bn of frozen Iranian assets, but Washington has not confirmed this. …