Iran is conducting final internal reviews of a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States after the two sides reached understandings on most issues, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Friday.
He said Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi's earlier remarks that a Pakistani-mediated MoU between Iran and the U.S. on ending the war "has never been closer" accurately reflected the current state of negotiations.
The spokesman said relevant Iranian institutions are meeting to examine the draft text and determine Tehran's final position, adding that consensus among Iran's decision-making bodies and relevant departments is essential before a final outcome can be reached.
In a post on social media platform X, Araghchi urged the media to refrain from speculation before the MoU is finalized.
"The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer. Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content," he said.
Araghchi added that "all details will be shared with the public in due course."
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that a final, mutually agreed text of a peace agreement between the United States and Iran had been reached amid intensive mediation efforts.
"Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps. Peace has never been this close as it is now," the prime minister said on his X account.
Iran conducting final internal reviews of draft MoU with US: spokesman
Iran conducting final internal reviews of draft MoU with US: spokesman
The newly-established World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) marks a major milestone in AI development and a significant step toward global AI governance, international delegates said on Friday.
Twenty-nine countries on Thursday signed an agreement in Shanghai on establishing WAICO, an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai.
The organization aims to promote international cooperation and global governance on AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, thereby promoting its healthy and orderly development to benefit all humanity.
"I think this organization reinforces the need for multilateral cooperation. So you have 29 countries that have come together. I think yesterday's developments underline the importance of the capacity-building that countries around the world are facing an AI divide. There are some countries that do not have the talent, the datasets, the computer infrastructure, the access to the right models, and therefore efforts such as these can help bridge the AI divide," said UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill.
Alaa Abdulaal, chief of Digital Economy Intelligence at the Digital Cooperation Organization, also hailed the launch, saying that cooperation is vital to ensure that no country is structurally excluded from the evolving digital landscape.
"Any initiative that is targeted for opening dialogues and innovation and conversation between countries to make sure that everyone is participating in the digital economy is a huge milestone. Whenever we have cooperation, whenever we have different countries, different representation, making sure that no one is left outside AI, it is a huge achievement, definitely," said Abdulaal.
World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization marks milestone in AI development: int'l delegates
