U.S. and Iran Agree to Extend Ceasefire and Ease Hormuz Shipping Restrictions

Rappler

U.S. & Iranian flags.

The United States and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters. However, U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve the arrangement, while Iranian state media reported that the agreement had not been finalised.

According to four sources familiar with the matter, cited by Reuters, the proposed agreement would extend the truce for a further 60 days and allow maritime traffic to resume through the strategically vital waterway, while negotiators continue discussions on contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

If approved by leadership in Washington and Tehran, it would amount to the biggest step towards peace since the conflict began on 28 February. News of the possible agreement came after a round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries, the latest such incident since the ceasefire took effect in early April.

President Trump has not yet approved the deal, the sources said. Iran has yet to comment on news of the proposed deal, which was first reported by Axios.

Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of the agreement had not been ⁠finalised or confirmed.

"We're not there yet, but we're very close and we're going to keep on working at it," U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters in Washington.

"I can't guarantee that we're going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it," Vance said.

Reuters reported that the deal would specify unrestricted shipping through the strait and would require the U.S. also lift its blockade of Iranian ports. The U.S. would also lift some sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

Earlier, U.S. Central Command said its forces had shot down five Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a sixth. Kuwaiti forces then intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country, which hosts a large U.S. base.

A U.S. official, cited by Reuters, said no American aircraft were shot down near Bushehr, Iran, contradicting a report by Iran’s state television that a U.S. aircraft had been downed there.

The incidents, while limited, highlighted the fragility of negotiations to turn the tenuous ceasefire into a lasting agreement to ‌end the three-month-old war, ⁠which has killed thousands and upended global energy markets.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said to Reuters that the strikes were defencive and intended to maintain the ceasefire.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted the U.S. base responsible for the Bandar Abbas attack, and that any repeat would lead to a "more decisive response", Tasnim news agency reported.

Kuwait condemned the attack and demanded that Iran immediately halt what it called a serious escalation.

The violence, the second flare-up this week, coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha celebrated across the region, where multiple countries have been caught up in the conflict.

Mediator Pakistan said its foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, would meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday, although the significance of his visit was unclear.

Trump ⁠has repeatedly said an end to the war is close since mid-March, though the two sides have shown little public movement toward common ground. Iran has called for sanctions to be lifted, foreign assets to be unfrozen, and U.S. forces to be withdrawn from the region. Washington has called for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.

Iran says any peace deal must also end U.S. ally Israel's attacks in Lebanon, but that conflict shows no signs of flagging. 

The U.S. warned Oman not to get involved in any effort with Iran to impose a toll in the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠and President Trump on Wednesday threatened to bomb the country, despite a history of economic and military ties between the two countries.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Oman's ambassador had told him there were no plans to impose such tolls.

Oman has not mentioned the idea of joint control of the strait with Iran, with which it says it has discussed freedom of navigation. Tehran expressed solidarity with Oman after what it called "U.S. officials' threats".

Source: Reuters



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