Vance says Iran deal is near—Trump sign-off still TBD

Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration is “very close” to a memorandum of understanding with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend a ceasefire by 60 days, but he can’t guarantee President Donald Trump will sign off. The remaining disput

Vice President JD Vance stepped out into Washington after returning from Colorado and said the White House is close to a new Iran arrangement — but not close enough to promise it will be signed.

Speaking to reporters on May 28 at Joint Base Andrews. Vance said the administration is “very close” to agreeing to a deal with Iran that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the ceasefire by 60 days. while adding. “not there yet.” He was careful to frame the next hurdle as a president’s decision rather than a negotiators’ victory.

“I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there. but right now I feel pretty good about it. ” Vance told reporters. He then pointed to a key uncertainty: “still TBD” whether President Donald Trump will be in a position to sign off on an agreement. Vance tied that uncertainty to the concessions Iran must make over its nuclear program, including highly enriched uranium.

Negotiators for the United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement on a memorandum of understanding — first reported by Axios — aimed at restarting talks while keeping the ceasefire extended. The proposal’s immediate objective is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. which has been at the center of tanker safety and shipping risk.

The memorandum would require unfettered shipping through the Strait of Hormuz without tolls. It would also obligate Iran to remove mines from the waterway within 30 days. In return, the United States would end a blockade of Iranian ports and waive some sanctions on oil sales.

Even with that structure on the table, Vance described the path to a signature as uneven. “I think it’s hard to say exactly when or if the president is going to sign the MOU,” he said. “We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points. I do think we’ve made a lot of progress here.”

For Vance, the sticking points are not only about whether Iran would comply, but about how the nuclear end of any deal would be handled. He said there remains “a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff, the highly enriched stockpile and also the question of enrichment.”

Trump has said repeatedly that Iran must dispose of its enriched uranium and ends its nuclear program as part of any deal. Iranian leaders, however, have previously called its right to uranium enrichment non-negotiable.

Vance said the administration is trying to keep the process moving toward negotiations on the nuclear question. “We’re trying to set the stage for a successful negotiation” on the nuclear issue, he said. He added that some details will take time to iron out — including the operational mechanics of how any enriched material would be handled.

“Even if you come to an agreement on, let’s say, destroying the enriched stockpile, how do you do it? When do you do it? How do you actually get access to it?” Vance said.

The statement of cautious optimism was paired with a sense that momentum could still hinge on language and sequencing — not just substance. “We’re getting to a point where we can potentially sit down and settle these issues, but that requires us to make a little more progress,” he said.

Iran deal Strait of Hormuz ceasefire extension JD Vance Donald Trump memorandum of understanding nuclear program highly enriched uranium sanctions on oil sales Iranian port blockade mine removal