The US and Iran have reached a tentative deal to extend a ceasefire by 60 days and launch further talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, a person with knowledge of the matter said, raising hopes the three-month conflict could be nearing a resolution.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, confirmed an earlier report from Axios. President Donald Trump has yet to agree to the terms. Both countries have previously hailed progress, with Trump repeatedly indicating the US was close to securing an agreement – only for the standoff to drag on.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday that the US and Iran are “going back and forth on a couple of language points,” including over issues relating to Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. He said Iran appears to be negotiating in good faith, adding that progress is being made.
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 finalized, citing a source it did not identify.
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 – remain prerequisites for any agreement.
The US and Iran have had a fragile truce in place since early April, which has been interrupted by isolated military strikes. Axios reported that Trump asked for “a couple of days” to think about the agreement.
Fada-Hossein Maleki, an Iranian lawmaker and member of the country’s parliamentary commission for national security, said negotiations between the US and Iran have shown “significant progress,” according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.
The US still has to decide whether to accept several Iranian conditions, the ISNA quoted Maleki as saying, without giving details.
The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global equities, climbed 0.3 percent to an all-time high as easing tensions fueled expectations for lower oil prices and stronger economic growth. Brent crude dropped 0.6 percent to about $93.10 a barrel on Friday.
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding would guarantee that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains unrestricted, Axios reported. Iran would have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days, according to the report.
Bessent also said Oman has no plans to levy tolls on shipments through the waterway, adding that he received assurances from the Omani ambassador earlier Thursday.
The news followed overnight clashes between the US and Iran, with both sides condemning the other for violating the truce.
US forces 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 remains 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.
The effective closure of the Hormuz Strait since the start of the war in late February has strangled about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, leading to a surge in prices and boosting inflation.
The US Treasury Department said it took action against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, accusing it of launching a new attempt “to monetize its campaign of state-sponsored terror by extorting vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran has expanded its claimed jurisdiction and set out new rules for vessels seeking to transit the waterway. That involves seafarers dealing with the new Iranian agency and sometimes getting payment requests of as much as $2 million for safe passage.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said 26 commercial ships and oil tankers have transited the waterway in the past 24 hours after obtaining permission, Tasnim reported Thursday, citing an IRGC statement.
Just two ships were observed transiting into the Persian Gulf, while a Chinese fuel tanker apparently paused midway on its voyage out, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
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 $24 billion in frozen assets will be released and how quickly.
Here’s more on the Iran war:
- Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to only a few mostly Iran-linked vessels crossing on Wednesday, underscoring the stop-start nature of traffic through the world’s most vital energy chokepoint.
- When Tehran oil infrastructure caught fire in March following Israeli strikes, the blaze produced toxic fumes detectable across an area the size of Italy, according to fresh research.
- Israel stepped up attacks on Lebanon, killing at least 14 people and striking Beirut. That potentially complicates US-Iran talks on an interim peace deal.
