U.S. and Iran Negotiators Reach Draft to Extend Truce 60 Days, Pending Trump

U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached a preliminary memorandum that would extend their ceasefire by 60 days and begin talks on permanently ending the war, but it still requires President Trump’s final approval, officials told Al Jazeera, which said the White House confirmed the report (Newsweek noted a White House dismissal of reports of the proposed deal, so the status is murky). Axios first reported that the deal would make shipping through the Strait of Hormuz “unrestricted” and end the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to Al Jazeera and Newsweek.

A draft Mr. Trump circulated among allies would reopen Hormuz to commercial shipping within 30 days, lift the blockade, unfreeze up to $12 billion in Iranian assets and open as much as 60 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear program and its highly enriched uranium, Newsweek reported. Al Jazeera said unresolved questions, including sanctions and the uranium stockpile, would need further talks, and that it is unclear whether the 60 days is a negotiating deadline, since the truce, in effect since April, is already open-ended.

Mr. Trump’s stated conditions are that Iran reopen the strait, give up its highly enriched uranium and end its nuclear program, Al Jazeera reported. The United States also seeks limits on Iran’s missile and drone production, which Tehran has ruled out discussing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “we perhaps have the makings of a deal here” but that the outcome depends on Mr. Trump, according to Newsweek. Bessent also said Washington will cut off Iranian airlines’ landing slots, refueling and ticket sales until negotiations produce a satisfactory result, The Times of Israel reported.

Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim agency denied that an agreement was imminent, Al Jazeera reported. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and does not negotiate “with humiliation,” and Iran insists on its right to enrich uranium domestically, which the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty does not prohibit, according to Al Jazeera. Mr. Trump wants the entire program dismantled, the outlet said.

The sticking point on the water is control. Iran claims sovereignty over the strait and has floated joint management with Oman, while the United States rejects any Iranian control, including tolls, Al Jazeera reported. Mr. Trump said “nobody’s going to control it” and threatened that Oman would have to behave or face destruction, Newsweek reported. Bessent said Oman’s ambassador assured him that Oman has no plans to charge tolls, Newsweek said.

The diplomacy is unfolding alongside violence. U.S. forces struck southern Iran on Wednesday, hitting a ground control station in Bandar Abbas after shooting down four Iranian drones that threatened shipping near the strait, a U.S. official told CBS News, who called the strikes “purely defensive” and said the ceasefire is still considered to be holding. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it retaliated against an American base, and Kuwait’s army said it intercepted hostile missile and drone attacks early Thursday, Newsweek reported. On Monday, the U.S. struck missile launch sites in southern Iran and vessels laying mines near Hormuz, calling the action self-defense, Newsweek reported. Brent crude rose more than 2 percent to $96.31 a barrel after the latest strikes, Newsweek said.

Hawks in Mr. Trump’s own party have been critical of the outline. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote on X that a rumored 60-day ceasefire “would be a disaster,” Newsweek reported on May 23. Mr. Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday that the United States was “not satisfied” and might have to resume fighting, CBS News reported. Israel has meanwhile intensified strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran says any truce must include Lebanon, a position the United States has not accepted, saying Lebanon was not part of the April truce, Al Jazeera reported.