tentative U.S.-Iran – U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and begin talks on Iran’s nuclear program, as the fragile truce wavered after fresh attacks around the Gulf. Iran did not confirm the deal, and President Donald Trump
A tentative agreement reached in Washington this Thursday landed like a brief exhale after days of strikes and accusations: the U.S. and Iran’s negotiators moved to extend the 3-month-old ceasefire by 60 days and open talks on Iran’s nuclear program. The fragile truce. already strained. had been rattled less than a day earlier when Kuwait intercepted missiles fired from Iran. according to U.S. Central Command.
But the path from diplomacy to a signed agreement still isn’t straight. Iran did not immediately confirm any deal, and a U.S. official familiar with the matter said President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on it.
The emerging memorandum of understanding lays out conditions that directly touch a nerve center of global energy. It makes clear that Iran will not be able to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz. and that Iran will have to remove all mines from the vital waterway within 30 days. the U.S. official said. On the U.S. side, the agreement would require a gradual lift of the naval blockade on the strait.
For traders and households far from the Gulf, the stakes are already visible in prices. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices skyrocketing, driving up fuel prices around the world. Under the memorandum, the U.S. would also relax sanctions, allowing Iran to sell more of its oil.
The nuclear issue remains the central unresolved thread. Among the first topics to be negotiated during the 60-day ceasefire is what will happen to Iran’s highly enriched uranium. the U.S. official said. Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity—considered a short. technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran has not publicly committed to giving up the stockpile. It is believed to be buried under a trio of nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. airstrikes last year.
Nuclear analysts have said Iran might consider involving China or Russia—both of which have close relations with Tehran—as a possible third party to take possession of the enriched uranium as part of a potential deal. But Trump said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with such a plan.
A second U.S. official. also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private diplomacy. said broad outlines of an agreement have been reached while emphasizing that until Trump signs off on it. there is no deal. That official added there are still questions about whether Trump will accept the proposal.
The details of the tentative pact were first reported by the news outlet Axios.
Kuwait’s reports underscore how quickly the tension has been turning over. Earlier Thursday. Kuwait announced an attack on its territory. while Iran said it had retaliated for strikes earlier in the week by firing on a U.S. base in a Gulf state it did not name. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry condemned Iran for what it called “blatant aggression,” and U.S. Central Command called the attack on one of America’s top allies in the Persian Gulf an “egregious ceasefire violation.”.
The latest exchange unfolded after U.S. officials said late Wednesday in Washington that American forces launched more strikes. Those actions included shooting down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the strait and hitting an Iranian ground-control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating the seven-week ceasefire and have traded strikes throughout the week. Still, they have not returned to full-scale hostilities and have continued negotiations. On Monday, the U.S. said it carried out what the Pentagon called “self-defense” strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran.
After the latest American strikes, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged the attack around Bandar Abbas International Airport. The Iranian force said via the state-run IRNA news agency that it launched a retaliatory attack on the air base that launched the assaults. without specifying whether the retaliation targeted Kuwait. where U.S. Army Central’s forward headquarters, air bases, and a naval base are located.
The wider regional demands remain in the background even as the U.S. and Iran discuss ceasefire mechanics and uranium. Kuwait’s military said its air-defense systems intercepted incoming missiles and drones on Thursday without detailing what had been targeted. Kuwait had repeatedly come under fire from Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq before the April ceasefire began.
Besides sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets. Iran has insisted that any deal must include an end to Israel’s military operations in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Tensions deepened Thursday in Lebanon as Israel conducted an airstrike on a southern suburb of the capital. Beirut. and other strikes in the southern coastal city of Tyre. At least 14 people were killed across the country’s south.
Even as negotiators worked through the outlines of a 60-day extension, the region was still absorbing the latest waves of fire—an atmosphere that makes the difference between a tentative memorandum and a durable ceasefire feel painfully large.
U.S. Iran tentative deal ceasefire extension nuclear talks Strait of Hormuz blockade sanctions relief enriched uranium 60% Trump sign off Kuwait missile interceptions Revolutionary Guard Bandar Abbas Hezbollah Lebanon conditions