US, Iran agree on 60-day ceasefire extension, but Trump is yet to sign off
Washington: The United States and Iran have reached a tentative deal to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources, buoying hopes the three-month conflict could be nearing a resolution.
Four people familiar with the matter said the agreement would continue the truce for another 60 days and allow traffic to flow through the vital waterway while negotiators tackled difficult issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
But US President Donald Trump had not yet approved the terms, the sources said, and Iran did not immediately confirm any deal, which was first reported by Axios. Both countries have previously hailed progress, with Trump repeatedly indicating the US was close to securing an agreement – only for the stand-off to drag on.
US Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Thursday (Washington time) that the US and Iran were “going back and forth on a couple of language points”, including over issues relating to Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. He said Iran appeared to be negotiating in good faith, adding that progress was being made.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re very close and we’re going to keep on working at it,” Vance said. “I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it.”
If approved by leadership in Washington and Tehran, it would amount to the biggest step towards peace since the conflict began on February 28.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said in a post on X that the text of the possible memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran had not been finalised, citing a source it did not identify.
But Fada-Hossein Maleki, an Iranian lawmaker and member of the country’s parliamentary commission for national security, said negotiations between the US and Iran had shown “significant progress”, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to say whether an interim deal had been reached, offering only that negotiations were continuing. He reiterated that Trump’s three “red lines” – reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran surrendering highly enriched uranium and ending its nuclear program – remained prerequisites for any agreement.
Axios reported that Trump asked for “a couple of days” to think about the agreement.
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding would guarantee that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained unrestricted, Axios reported, and Iran would have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days.
The US would gradually lift its blockade of Iranian ports and remove some sanctions on Iranian oil sales. The reports prompted oil prices to fall on hopes of a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
The news followed tit-for-tat clashes between the US and Iran, with both sides condemning the other for violating the fragile truce in place since early April.
US forces this week shot down four Iranian drones fired at a commercial ship and hit a launch unit near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official, who said the strikes were defensive and the ceasefire remained intact. Iran targeted the US base from which the assault came, state-run Press TV reported in a post on X.
The US and Kuwait said the Gulf state intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Tehran.
On Friday, Iran’s state TV claimed an American aircraft had been destroyed near the southern city of Bushehr, citing a regional governor. The US denied that any of its aircraft had been lost.
The effective closure of the Hormuz Strait since the start of the war has led to a surge in oil prices and boosted inflation.
Iran has expanded its claimed jurisdiction over the waterway and set out new rules for vessels seeking to transit it. That involves seafarers dealing with a new Iranian agency and sometimes getting payment requests of as much as $US2 million ($2.8 million) for safe passage.
The US has warned Oman not to get involved in any effort with Iran to impose tolls in the strait, and Trump on Wednesday (Washington time) threatened to bomb the country if it did so, despite a history of economic and military ties between the two countries.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that Oman’s ambassador had assured him there were no plans to impose such tolls.
The US president has instituted his own blockade of Iranian ports and called for allies to assist with the effort to open the strait so that commercial vessels can resume safe passage. He’s also threatened to resume major airstrikes against Iran – all to little avail.
Trump finds himself caught between Iranian demands for financial relief and an end to attacks, pressure from Republican hawks not to compromise, and his own past criticism of similar agreements. Beyond Tehran’s nuclear program, negotiators still need to decide how much of Iran’s $US24 billion in frozen assets will be released and how quickly.
Mediator Pakistan said its Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, would meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday, although the significance of his visit was unclear.
Bloomberg, Reuters, AP
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