Negotiators for the United States and Iran have settled on a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would extend the current ceasefire and open talks on Iran’s nuclear program. One step remains. President Donald Trump has to sign off, U.S. sources told Fox News.
Axios was first to report the agreement on Thursday. An earlier Axios account, citing a US official, said the draft would have the Strait of Hormuz open without tolls for the 60 days, with Iran clearing the mines it placed there. The US would drop its blockade of Iranian ports and issue some sanctions waivers so Iran could sell oil.
Weeks of strain
The talks nearly came apart along the way. On Monday, the U.S. carried out what it called “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it hit Iranian boats seen laying mines in the strait, and that an Iranian missile had been aimed at U.S. warplanes.
U.S. officials told Fox News that American forces destroyed two Islamic Revolution Guards Corps boats and a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas.
Wednesday brought more. U.S. forces shot down a group of Iranian drones over the strait, and shortly afterward Iran fired a ballistic missile at Kuwait, a U.S. ally. Kuwaiti forces intercepted it. CENTCOM still called the launch an “egregious ceasefire violation.”
Trump: “negotiating on fumes”
That same Wednesday, Trump told reporters that Iran was “negotiating on fumes” and that no deal had been reached. “So far they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be, we will be. Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job,” he warned.
Earlier, he had posted on Truth Social that a “largely negotiated” memorandum would reopen the strait, through which shipping has been blocked since the war began in February, and that details would be announced shortly.
The nuclear question is the main sticking point. Trump repeated his long-held position: “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He added that “with Operation Epic Fury, our warriors are ensuring that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror never obtains a nuclear weapon. And they won’t.”
Tehran’s red lines
Iran calls the nuclear file its own “red line.” Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, listed on X what Iran will not give up: the right to enrich uranium, its stockpiles of enriched uranium, control of the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of sanctions.
“It is obvious Trump, seeking a way out of this strategic deadlock, alternates between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement,” Azizi wrote.
Under the Axios version of the draft, Iran would pledge never to pursue nuclear weapons and would negotiate over suspending enrichment and removing its highly enriched uranium stockpile. The US, for its part, would negotiate over lifting sanctions and unfreezing Iranian funds.
Sources
- US and Iran reach ceasefire extension deal pending Trump's final approval
- US, Iran near deal on 60-day ceasefire extension, Hormuz reopening: Axios
