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, although US President Donald Trump has not ratified it and Iranian state media said it was not yet finalised.
According to four sources familiar with the matter, the deal would extend the deal for another 60 days and allow traffic to flow through the key waterway while negotiators tackle tough issues like Iran’s nuclear program.
If approved by the leadership in Washington and Tehran, it would be the biggest peace step since the conflict began on February 28. News of the possible deal came after tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries, the latest such incident since it took effect in early April.
Trump has not approved the deal, sources said. The White House declined to comment, and Iran has not commented 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 finalized or confirmed.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said a ceasefire was close, only for Iran to dispute or downplay the claims.
The deal would clear up unrestricted shipping in this way and would require the US to lift its blockade of Iranian ports. The US will also ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
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The reports caused oil prices to fall on hopes of a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
Earlier, the US Central Command said that its forces shot down five Iranian planes and crashed into a station in the port of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a sixth. The Kuwaiti military then intercepted a missile that was fired towards the country, which is carrying a large American base.
The incident, though limited, highlighted the weakness of negotiations to turn a temporary ceasefire into a permanent deal to end the three-month-old war, which has killed thousands and upended energy markets around the world.
The US official, who did not want to be named, said the strikes were defensive and aimed at maintaining the ceasefire.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was targeting the US base responsible for the attack in Bandar Abbas, and that any retaliatory action would lead to a “very serious response,” Tasnim news agency said.
Kuwait condemned the attack and demanded that Iran immediately halt what it called a major escalation.
The violence, the second outbreak this week, coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which is celebrated across the region, with many countries embroiled in the conflict.
Pakistan’s mediator said the foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday, although the significance of his visit is unclear.
Trump has repeatedly said the end of the war is near since mid-March, although both sides have shown little public movement toward common ground. Iran has called for sanctions to be lifted, foreign goods to be frozen, and US troops to be withdrawn from the region. Washington has called on Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.
Iran says any peace deal must also end the US-allied Israeli offensive in Lebanon, but that conflict is showing no signs of alarming. Israel said it was targeting an Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist base in the southern city of Tire and carried out a strike in the capital Beirut. Israel has expelled hundreds of thousands of people by pushing into Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah. The Lebanese army said the strike killed one of its soldiers.
The United States has warned Oman not to get involved in any efforts with Iran to impose tariffs on the Strait of Hormuz, and 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 the Omani embassy had told him there were no plans to impose such a fee.
Oman has not discussed the idea of joint control of the strait with Iran, saying it has discussed freedom of movement with it. Tehran expressed solidarity with Oman after what it called “threats by American officials.”
