The United States and Iran have reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) to extend the ceasefire between the two countries for 60 days and initiate negotiations for permanently ending the war, according to officials. US sources told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the framework still requires President Donald Trump’s final approval. If finalized, the agreement would mark a significant breakthrough after weeks of stalled diplomacy. However, details of the tentative deal remain obscure. It is also unclear whether the 60-day extension represents a deadline for the negotiations, especially since the ongoing truce is already open-ended. The MOU would come after sporadic skirmishes between the US and Iran in the Gulf that threatened to unravel the truce. The two sides traded limited attacks earlier on Thursday. Axios first reported the preliminary deal earlier on Thursday, a report subsequently confirmed by the White House to Al Jazeera. According to Axios, the deal stipulates that vessel traffic would be “unrestricted” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the US would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Tehran has consistently claimed sovereignty over the strategic waterway, asserting that the strait must be managed jointly by Iran and Oman because it traverses the territorial waters of both countries. However, the US has rejected any form of Iranian control, including a tolling system, in the Hormuz Strait. Earlier on Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also threatened Oman — a close ally of Washington — with sanctions if it facilitates the imposition of fees on ships passing through the strait. In addition to an agreement concerning the waterway, the reported memorandum also requires Iran to commit to not pursuing a nuclear weapon. Tehran has already made that commitment publicly numerous times. The martyred Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the US and Israel on the first day of the war, February 28, had issued a religious decree against weapons of mass destruction. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated on Thursday that his country is “not looking for nuclear weapons.” “We do not engage in diplomacy with humiliation,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s ISNA news agency. While the reported deal could resolve the Hormuz issue, other sticking points, including the continuation of US sanctions and the future of Iran’s uranium stockpile, would need to be addressed in further talks. Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium domestically, which is not prohibited under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). However, Trump has stressed that the country’s entire nuclear program must be dismantled. The US is also seeking limits on Iran’s missile and drone production, but Tehran has ruled out negotiations over its defense policies. Another critical issue is the raging war in Lebanon, where Israel has intensified its attacks, killing dozens of people over the past weeks and issuing forced displacement orders for two of the largest cities in the south of the country. The Iran-allied group Hezbollah has also stepped up its drone launches against invading Israeli forces. Israel bombed Beirut on Thursday for the first time in three weeks — the second attack on the Lebanese capital since the “ceasefire” reached in April. Iran has previously stated that any truce must include Lebanon. Separately, the Lebanese government has been holding direct talks with Israel to end the war.
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