Iran and US making progress toward deal but large gaps remain, Iranian official says

Iran and the United States have made some progress as they push for an agreement to end weeks of warfare, but more than halfway through a two-week truce, big splits remain including over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a senior Iranian official says.

The official says a visit by Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir to Tehran yesterday helped reduce differences in some areas, increasing hopes for an extended ceasefire and renewed talks between Tehran and Washington.

“The trip of the Pakistani army chief to Tehran was effective in reducing differences in some areas, but fundamental disagreements still remain in the nuclear field…. More hopes have been created for extending the ceasefire and holding a second round of talks,” the senior official says. “The fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium and the duration of Iran’s nuclear restrictions are among the highly disputed issues for which no solution has yet been found.”