Regarding the existing ceasefire, Vance said it was “always a little chaotic” but “very stable.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal on Thursday to extend a ceasefire in the three-month war by 60 days and launch a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
Iran did not immediately confirm any deal. Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed late Thursday that the two sides had reached a tentative agreement but said it was unclear whether President Donald Trump would ratify it.
“It’s difficult to say exactly when or if the president will sign it,” Vance told reporters.
“We are going back and forth on several language issues,” he added.
The MoU comes amid a fragile ceasefire agreement. war Relations between the United States and Iran appear to be on the rocks. The latest outbreak of fighting occurred less than a day ago when Kuwait intercepted a missile fired from Iran, according to U.S. Central Command.
The proposal involves the Strait of Hormuz
The memo makes clear that Iran will not be able to impose tolls on Iran. Strait of Hormuz The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iran must clear all mines from key waterways within 30 days.
During the war, Iran effectively closed the strait, which once routed about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade. Its closure sent global oil prices soaring. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant predicted at a news conference on Thursday that oil costs could “come down very quickly” once the deal is finalized.
Iran says about two dozen commercial ships have passed through each day in recent days, compared with More than 100 per day Before the War – But So Did the Islamic Republic collect tolls At least for some ships. and established a formal gatekeeping agency Earlier this month, exciting New round of U.S. sanctions This week.
Under tentative deal, the U.S. will gradually dismantle its navy Blockade of Iranian ports and agreed to ease sanctions and allow Iran to sell more oil.
However, even as news of the potential deal emerged, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed additional sanctions on the Iranian military’s oil sales arm. The new penalties, first reported by The Associated Press, expand the Trump administration’s economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
First, the details of the tentative agreement News outlet Axios reports.
The nuclear issue remains unresolved
One of the first issues to be negotiated during the 60-day ceasefire is what to do with Iran’s highly enriched uranium, the first official said. The Islamic Republic of Iran possesses 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium with a purity of up to 60 percent, just shy of the 90 percent weapons-grade level. International Atomic Energy Agency.
Vance said late Thursday that negotiators were trying to agree on general terms for the highly enriched uranium identified in the tentative agreement, with specific details to be hammered out in subsequent talks.
Vance said the ongoing back-and-forth involves “a number of issues related to nuclear materials, highly enriched stockpiles and enrichment issues.”
Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its stockpiles. It is believed to be buried beneath three nuclear facilities severely damaged by US air strikes last year.
Nuclear analysts say Iran may consider China or Russia, which have close ties to Tehran, as potentially acceptable third parties to possess enriched uranium. But Trump said Wednesday he was “not happy” with such a plan.
While Trump and his team have said from the beginning of the conflict that one of their top goals is to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, Vance sees the war’s achievements as far less clear-cut.
“We can significantly reduce their nuclear program, not just during this president’s term but in the long run,” Vance said. “That’s a very, very good thing for the American people.”
Iran has long maintained that its plans are peaceful and insisted that any deal must include an end to Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Tensions rise in Lebanon on Thursday over Israel conduct air strikes Attacks occurred in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut and also in the southern coastal city of Tyre. At least 14 people died in the country’s southern region.
Kuwait announced that its air defenses intercepted incoming missiles and drones on Thursday, but did not elaborate on the targets. Iran said it retaliated for an attack earlier this week by firing on U.S. bases in the Gulf country, which it did not name.
Kuwait’s foreign ministry condemned what it called “blatant aggression” by Iran, and U.S. Central Command called the attack on one of America’s top allies in the Persian Gulf a “serious violation of the ceasefire agreement.” Before the ceasefire began in April, Kuwait came under repeated attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militias.
The exchange came after U.S. officials said late Wednesday that the U.S. military had launched more strikes Against Iran, it shot down four unidirectional attack drones that posed a threat around the strait and hit an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas Port that was preparing to launch a fifth drone.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards acknowledged the attack around Bandar Abbas International Airport and said through the state-run Islamic News Agency that they had launched a retaliatory attack on the air base where the attack was carried out. The Revolutionary Guards did not specify whether the response was directed at Kuwait, which hosts U.S. Army Central Command, air force bases and naval bases.
On Monday, the United States said it had Pentagon calls ‘self-defense’ attack Missile launch sites and minelayers in southern Iran.
Although Washington and Tehran staged strikes and accused ceasefire violations, they did not resume full hostilities and continued negotiations.
“The ceasefire is always a little chaotic,” but “very stable,” Vance said.
Late on Thursday, Iranian defense systems destroyed “an enemy aircraft” around the southern city of Jam, the region’s governor, Masoud Tangistani, told state broadcaster IRIB. No other information was immediately available.
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Konstantin Tolopin and Matthew Lee in Washington and Jennifer Peltz and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.
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