Negotiators reach Iran deal but Trump, Tehran must still sign off
Negotiators for the United States and Iran have reached a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend a seven-week ceasefire while discussions continue over Tehran's nuclear program, according to an American official.
President Donald Trump has yet to approve the deal, though, the official said. Iran's leadership also hasn't signed off yet on the 60-day memorandum of understanding, according to a regional official who said the American proposal was given to Pakistan, which gave it to Iranian negotiators.
The potential agreement requires unfettered shipping through the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, and Iran must remove mines from the waterway within 30 days, according to the United States official. In return, the United States would end a blockade of Iranian ports and waive some sanctions on oil sales.
Under the memorandum, which was first reported by Axios, Iran would agree not to develop a nuclear weapon and would enter into negotiations over how to dispose of its enriched uranium, the official said. The United States would agree to consider further easing sanctions.
Asked repeatedly during a May 28 press briefing whether the two sides had reached a tentative agreement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the negotiating teams "have been going back and forth" and that "everything depends on what the president wants to do."
"It's always a mistake to get out ahead of the president," Bessent said, before adding later that "we perhaps have the makings of a deal here."
The latest diplomatic maneuvers come after Trump signaled over the weekend that a peace accord was imminent, but then lowered expectations for a quick deal after blowback, saying he told negotiators not to rush. Meanwhile, hostilities have flared back up, with the United States and Iran trading military strikes.
The U.S. military carried out strikes May 25 targeting boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites in Iran, according to United States Central Command, which described the strikes as defensive efforts "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces."
On May 27 CENTCOM accused Iran of an "egregious ceasefire violation," saying Tehran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait that was intercepted and five attack drones around the Strait of Hormuz that also were shot down. A sixth drone was prevented from launching.
"Everything we have done so far has been defensive," Bessent said of the renewed military actions. "And at present that is what we will continue doing, but if president Trump doesn't think he can get a peace deal" that would change.
Trump has expressed optimism about securing a peace deal as the Iran war reaches the three-month mark, while also repeatedly threatening to resume full-scale military strikes if the Middle Eastern country doesn't agree to his terms.
“I think we’re doing very well, I think they’re starting to give us the things that they have to give us, and if they won’t then the man on my left is gonna finish them off,” Trump said during a May 27 Cabinet meeting, pointing to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
Roughly 20 percent of the world's oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has driven up gas prices, frustrating American consumers. Polls show most Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran, but the president said he's not concerned about how the war could impact the midterm elections.
Trump said May 27 that the regime in Tehran "thought they were going to outwait me" on a peace deal.
"'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms,'” Trump said. "I don't care about the midterms."
Contributing: Joey Garrison