US military says it has launched new strikes on southern Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said an agreement could possibly be reached on Monday. But Baqai responded: "It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion... But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent - no-one can make such a claim."The memorandum of understanding being discussed reportedly involves a 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a plan for further negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.CBS News, the BBC's US partner, has reported that US intelligence believes Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei - who was injured in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war which killed his father and predecessor - is holed up in an undisclosed location, making communication with his envoys difficult and therefore delaying pace of talks with the US.According to US media, the discussions will not immediately lead to a final settlement. Contentious issues will likely be negotiated later, including details of Iranian sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and US demands for Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.At the start of the war, Iran is thought to have had about 440kg (970 lbs) of uranium that was enriched up to 60% purity - a short process away from being enriched further to the weapons-grade 90%, which theoretically could allow it to create a nuclear bomb.On Monday night, Trump said the enriched uranium would either be "immediately" turned over to the US, or "preferably, in conjunction and co-ordination with the Iran" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="8614" data-entity-type="organization">Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place".Despite the downplaying of any breakthrough from senior officials, Iran's top negotiator and foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the US, Reuters reported.