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. 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 American 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
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 off…
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.