The US and Iran have reached a deal to extend the ceasefire and open new negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme, but President Donald Trump has yet to give his final approval, according to a new report.
Citing two US officials and a regional source involved in the discussions, Axios said the two countries agreed to a 60-day memorandum of understanding.
There was no immediate confirmation of the report, which prompted oil prices to reverse course and trade lower.
Trump has repeatedly said the end of the war is close, but told the media at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday he was not yet satisfied by the negotiations and that the US was not discussing easing sanctions, one of Tehran’s demands.
Under the terms of the agreement, navigation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain ‘unrestricted’, meaning that no tolls or any form of harassment will be permitted, according to the new report.
Iran will have to remove all mines present in the strait within thirty days, while the American naval blockade will be lifted gradually, the two officials said.
The memorandum also includes Iran’s commitment to not to seek to acquire nuclear weapons.
Discussions over the next sixty days will mainly focus on Iran’s enriched uranium and its overall enrichment capabilities.
The memorandum of understanding is pending approval from Donald Trump, according to Axios
Under the terms of the agreement, navigation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain ‘unrestricted’
The US has also agreed to open discussions on easing its sanctions and unfreezing Iranian financial assets held abroad.
The report comes after Iran targeted a US air base in Kuwait in the wake of American strikes on what Washington said was an Iranian drone operation.
Tehran and Washington have in recent days been swapping proposals to end the war, which broke out on February 28 and engulfed the Middle East, while a fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.
Iran has since kept a tight control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, while the US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and coasts since April 13.
It comes after US forces carried out what the Pentagon called ‘defensive’ strikes on missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran on Monday.
The US said it acted with ‘restraint’ in light of the weekslong ceasefire, while Iran decried the action as a sign of ‘bad faith and unreliability.’
The war has also sparked concern that it could plunge the world into a financial crisis, the European Central Bank has warned.
Tehran’s decision to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz for ships carrying regional oil, natural gas and other critical supplies has been a focal point of global concern and economic pain.
