Trump meeting with aides to make ‘final determination’ on Iran ceasefire deal
Donald Trump says he is holding a White House Situation Room meeting with his advisers as he looks to make a “final determination” on moving forward with a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire.
The president confirmed the high-level White House talks on Friday, the day after The Associated Press and other news outlets reported that US and Iranian negotiators had come to terms on a tentative agreement.
The deal would extend the fragile ceasefire by 60 days as new talks are held on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.
Meanwhile, vice president JD Vance on Thursday confirmed there was a tentative agreement, but said it was unclear if Mr Trump would approve it.
“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the president’s going to sign,” Vance told reporters.
“We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points.”
The emerging memorandum of understanding came as the fragile ceasefire in the war between the US and Iran appeared to be wavering.
The latest flare-up in fighting happened less than a day earlier, when Kuwait intercepted missiles fired from Iran, according to US Central Command.
The memorandum makes clear that Iran will not be able to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran will have to remove all mines from the vital waterway within 30 days, according to the official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
During the war, Iran has effectively closed the strait, which had been the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas.
Its closure has sent oil prices skyrocketing around the world.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent predicted on Thursday at a news briefing that the cost of oil could “come down very quickly” once a deal is finalised.
Iran has said it is letting some commercial vessels pass — about two dozen daily in recent days, compared with more than 100 a day before the war — but the Islamic Republic also has charged tolls for at least some ships.
It set up a formal gatekeeper agency earlier this month, spurring a new round of US sanctions this week.
Under the tentative agreement, the US would gradually lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The US would also agree to relax sanctions, allowing Iran to sell more of its oil.
Yet even as word of the potential deal emerged, the US Treasury Department imposed additional sanctions on the Iranian military’s oil sales arm.
The new penalties, first reported by the Associated Press, extend the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic.
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