Iran-US deal: What are the main sticking points?

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that an agreement with Iran could be imminent. He spoke of a "memorandum of understanding" (MoU) that both sides aim to conclude in the coming days .

Iranian officials said that no draft MoU had yet been approved. However, if the United States were to accept the proposal put forward by Iran, it was likely that Iran would follow suit.

An agreement would mark the most significant diplomatic development since the Iran war began over three months ago — a conflict that has cost thousands of lives and pushed global energy prices higher.

At the center of the US-Iran negotiations is Tehran's nuclear program, in particular the handling of what is believed to be around 400 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to around 60% .

If further enriched, this material could theoretically be sufficient to produce several nuclear weapons — something the United States is seeking to prevent.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said that "Iran's right to enrich uranium and the retention of enriched material... will be emphasised with a view to their inclusion in the final agreement."

While the US side has reportedly proposed a long-term moratorium of up to 20 years, Tehran has so far rejected this approach. Instead, talks have instead centered on a much shorter pause of around five years.

Iran views its enriched uranium as a bargaining chip in negotiations and is unwilling to give it up. The country has proposed downblending the material to lower enrichment levels itself, but only in exchange for lifting US sanctions.