US, Iran agree on truce extension
US and Iranian negotiators have largely agreed on a memorandum of understanding to extend their ceasefire by 60 days and begin formal talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, but are waiting for final approval from President Donald Trump, US government sources said Thursday.
Iran has not yet confirmed its acceptance of the tentative agreement toward ending the three-month-old war, which was first reported by Axios. The US news outlet quoted Trump as saying he wanted “a couple of days” to reach a decision.
Citing a source close to Iran’s negotiating team, the country’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported there was no such agreement in place. The news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, added that the text of the deal had yet to be finalized.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a press briefing that the negotiators have been “going back and forth.”
Potential breakthrough
When asked whether a preliminary agreement had been reached in their weeklong talks, Bessent said without elaborating, “Everything depends on what the president wants to do, and President Trump is not going to make a bad deal for the American people.”
The potential breakthrough in the negotiations, mediated by Pakistan, came a day after the United States and Iran traded attacks, with Trump saying he was “not satisfied” with Tehran’s proposals for a lasting end to hostilities between the two countries.
Trump, who along with Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, also reiterated Wednesday that the United States would not allow Iran or any other country to control the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route.
Still, Trump has insisted in recent days that a deal between Washington and Tehran is within reach.
Primary objective
The emerging deal reportedly includes Iran’s restoration of commercial shipping through the narrow waterway to prewar levels within one month and the United States lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
In early April, the United States and Iran entered a fragile two-week ceasefire in the war, with Trump repeatedly saying his primary objective was to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Later that month, Trump said the United States would extend its ceasefire with Iran indefinitely.
But the two sides have failed to narrow differences over core issues, including Iran’s uranium enrichment program and the continuation of US sanctions on Tehran.
