US and Iranian negotiators have reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding to extend the current ceasefire by 60 days and begin formal nuclear talks, according to officials. The deal requires Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and remove all mines within 30 days — but Trump’s approval is still pending, Iran has not officially confirmed the agreement, and major disputes over nuclear enrichment and missiles remain unresolved.
US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire in the three-month-old war by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran did not immediately confirm any deal. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday evening confirmed there was a tentative agreement, but said it was unclear whether President Donald Trump would approve it.
The United States and Iran have reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire between the two countries for 60 days and start negotiations for permanently ending the war. The memorandum of understanding, which would enable further negotiations, still requires Donald Trump’s final approval.
The emergence of a tentative agreement — however qualified and however far from final — is the most significant diplomatic development since the April 8 ceasefire was first agreed. It provides a framework within which the most immediate crisis — the Strait of Hormuz closure — could be resolved within a month, while deferring the harder questions about Iran’s nuclear programme to a subsequent and more extended negotiation.
What the Memorandum of Understanding Contains
Based on reporting from multiple US officials familiar with the document, the MOU contains the following core elements:
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.
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 30-day timeline for mine removal and Hormuz reopening is the most commercially significant element of the deal. Oil markets and global shipping have been waiting for a concrete commitment on this point for more than two months. A credible 30-day reopening timeline would begin to ease the energy price premium that has been built into global oil markets since the conflict began, even before a single barrel of oil actually flows through the strait again.
The 60-day ceasefire extension provides the diplomatic space within which nuclear talks could begin — a framework that explicitly defers the hardest issues to a subsequent phase rather than trying to resolve everything at once.
What Remains Unresolved — and Why It Matters
The MOU’s value is in what it achieves in the near term. Its limitations are defined by what it explicitly does not resolve.
Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium domestically, which is not prohibited under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. But Trump has stressed that the country’s entire nuclear programme must be dismantled. The US is also seeking limits on Iran’s missile and drone production, but Tehran has ruled out negotiations over its defence policies.
These are not minor technical disagreements. They are fundamental disputes about what Iran is permitted to do as a sovereign state. The NPT does permit uranium enrichment for civilian purposes — and Iran’s position that it has a legal right to enrich is legally defensible under the treaty’s text. The US position that Iran’s entire nuclear programme must be dismantled goes considerably further than what was agreed in the 2015 JCPOA, which allowed enrichment with restrictions and verification.
On missiles, Iran’s position is clear and has not changed: it will not place its missile programme on the table in negotiations. For the US and Israel, the missile programme — which provides Iran with the ability to strike targets across the region without aircraft — is central to the threat assessment that drove the February strikes. Any agreement that leaves Iranian missile capabilities intact will be criticised by hawks in both countries as incomplete.
Vance said: “There are a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff, the highly enriched stockpile, and also the question of enrichment. So we’re going back and forth with them. We do think they’re negotiating, at least so far, in good faith.” He added: “Hopefully, we’ll continue to make progress, the president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that’s still TBD.”
Trump’s Approval: The Central Unknown
The MOU is described as tentative precisely because its most important element — Trump’s signature — has not been provided.
Trump has sent mixed signals throughout the negotiating process. He has claimed progress at multiple points, then described the existing terms as insufficient. He has warned Iran that he is prepared to “finish the job.” He has also extended the deadline for threatened power plant strikes multiple times, providing the diplomatic space for talks to continue.
Vance said he could not yet guarantee such a deal would be reached: “We’ll get to a point where we could potentially sit down and settle these issues, but that requires us to make a little bit more progress. I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it.”
Inside the administration, the split between deal-makers — Vance and Witkoff — and sceptics — Rubio and Waltz — has been a consistent feature of the negotiation. Whether Trump approves the MOU depends on which faction’s counsel he accepts and on whether the terms available represent what he considers a “win” that can be credibly presented to the American public as a successful resolution of the conflict he began.
Despite a recent exchange of attacks, Vance said the ceasefire remains in place but that the US reserves the right to launch defensive strikes.
Iran’s Silence — and What It Means
Iran’s official non-confirmation of the MOU is itself a negotiating position. By neither confirming nor denying the deal’s existence, Iran preserves flexibility: it can accept the terms if Trump approves them and the conditions are met, or it can claim the document was never final if the deal collapses.
The talks follow extensive damage to Iran’s military infrastructure and defences as well as to regional energy production. Issues under discussion include freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programme, reconstruction and sanctions, and a long-term peace agreement.
The reconstruction and sanctions dimensions of the talks — not yet fully in the public domain — are significant for Iran’s domestic political management of any settlement. A deal that reopens the Hormuz and extends the ceasefire but leaves Iran under crushing sanctions and with its economy unable to recover would be politically difficult to sell to an Iranian public that has endured three months of war, 87 days of internet blackout, and accelerating inflation.
Another issue complicating the picture 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. Iran’s relationship with Hezbollah, and its refusal to abandon allied groups as a negotiating concession, means the Lebanon dimension of the broader regional conflict is a further complication in any comprehensive settlement framework.
What the Treasury Secretary Said
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted that the cost of oil would fall sharply if a peace deal is reached, providing relief for Americans who have been paying elevated gas prices since the conflict began. That prediction — from an official primarily concerned with economic consequences rather than military strategy — reflects the enormous pressure the Iran war’s energy impact has placed on the US political system.
Gas above $4.42 per gallon. Inflation at 3.8% annually. Consumer confidence under pressure. The economic cost of the conflict is translating into political costs, and the Treasury’s view that a deal would produce rapid energy price relief aligns with the economic data showing how much the Hormuz closure has added to the cost of living for American households.
What Happens Next
Trump’s approval of the MOU is the immediate prerequisite for the deal to move forward. If he approves, the 60-day ceasefire extension begins, the 30-day clock for mine removal and Hormuz reopening starts, and formal nuclear talks are scheduled. The harder issues — enrichment, missiles, sanctions relief — move to a subsequent phase.
If Trump does not approve the current terms, the negotiating process returns to an earlier stage, the five-day deadline on threatened power plant strikes re-enters the picture, and the risk of a ceasefire collapse becomes more acute.
The world has been waiting for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen for three months. A tentative deal that would achieve that within 30 days of signing is the closest thing to a resolution that has emerged from the entire conflict. Whether it becomes something final depends, as so much has throughout this war, on the decision of one man.
LoudFact.com is an independent global news and explainer platform. This report is based on reporting from Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour, CNN, King5, the House of Commons Library, and the Associated Press as of May 29-30, 2026.
