US, Iran Negotiators Reach Tentative Deal To Extend Cease-Fire, Await Trump's Approval: Reports
Multiple US and international news outlets are reporting that the United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement on extending the current cease-fire and that it is awaiting President Donald Trump’s final approval.
Reuters on May 28 cited four sources familiar with the matter as saying the deal would extend the truce for a further 60 days and allow for traffic to freely flow through the strategic Strait of Hormuz while negotiators continue to address more difficult issues -- such as Tehran’s nuclear program.
The news comes amid reports by Iranian news agencies that the country's forces had on May 28 launched missile strikes, initially believed to be warning shots fired toward ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the US announced it had imposed new sanctions on Iran's military oil trade, targeting eight ships involved in transporting Iranian petroleum products to global markets.
Although it would not be the more-inclusive cease-fire deal that Trump has said the US was seeking, the new agreement, if confirmed, would appear to be the largest step toward peace since the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28 led to the widespread Middle East conflict.
Reuters said Trump has not yet approved the agreement, while the White House declined to comment.
However, Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Washington was "not there yet" in talks with Tehran but that the sides were close.
"It's hard to say exactly when or if the president is going to sign the MOU (memorandum of understanding). We're going back and forth on a couple of language points," Vance said.
"I can't guarantee that we're going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it," he said.
Tehran has not commented on the report, which was first published by Axios. Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing a source, said the text of the agreement had not been finalized or confirmed.
Among others, AFP, dpa, CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, and CBS News cited sources to say a tentative deal had been reached to extend the cease-fire.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, during a briefing at the White House, declined to confirm an agreement but told reporters that "we perhaps have the makings of a deal here."
The Axios report said terms of the agreement had largely been finalized by May 27, but it added that both sides must still get the approval of their political leaders.
A 30-day US-Iran cease-fire was first announced in early April before Trump set an open-ended extension prior to its expiration.
Global Oil Reserves Depleting At 'Record Pace,' Economic Organizations Warn
The heads of four major global economic organizations have issued a joint statement warning that oil reserves are being depleted "at a record pace" amid ongoing supply disruptions due to the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, and World Trade Organization met on May 28 as part of continuing efforts to coordinate their response to the crisis.
“Global oil inventories are being drawn down at a record pace in response to the major loss of supply through the Strait of Hormuz,” they said in a joint statement issued on May 29.
“If shipping flows do not return to normal, continued rapid depletion of global oil inventories ahead of peak summer oil demand in the Northern Hemisphere would present increasing risks for fuel security, market conditions, and broader economic resilience,” it added.
Prior to the conflict that began with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28, a fifth of the world’s oil supplies were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, along with large supplies of other major commodities, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fertilizers.
Tehran blocked passage through the strait in response to the attacks, while Washington later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The disruption has led to a substantial oil price spike, although major economies have helped hold down the price increases by releasing oil from strategic reserves.
Reports Suggest Iran Is Casting Doubt On Deal
Reports from within Iran have suggested that the Iranian authorities have not agreed to some elements of a deal with Washington mentioned by US President Donald Trump in a social media post.
Reuters cited an Iranian source as saying the memorandum of understanding did not contain anything related to Iran’s nuclear program, for example. The source also said the text had not been finalized.
The same was reported by the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), citing “informed sources” who described Trump’s post as a “mixture of truth and lies.”
It also noted that Trump’s remarks made no mention of certain issues that are important to Tehran, such as a $12-billion payment from frozen Iranian assets and “establishing a complete cease-fire in Lebanon.”
Trump Says He's Meeting 'Now' To Make 'Final Determination' On Iran Deal
US President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that he will soon be entering a meeting at which he will make his decision about an agreement aimed at ending the armed confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” he wrote on Truth Social on May 29.
The comments follow reports in multiple US and international news outlets that the United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement on extending the current cease-fire and that it is awaiting Trump’s final approval.
Trump’s post also contains statements about elements of the deal.
This includes, he says, an Iranian commitment to “never have” nuclear weapons, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, to demine it, and to cooperate with the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the destruction of its highly enriched uranium stocks.
Trump also says the US naval blockade of Iran will be lifted under the deal.
There has been official response from Iran to the earlier news reports on the agreement, which was said to contain a 60-day cease-fire extension during which negotiators would address Iran’s nuclear program.
Netanyahu Says Israeli Troops Move North Of Litani River
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country’s troops have moved north of Lebanon’s Litani River, moving deeper into the country even as Israeli and Lebanese military officials were due to meet at the Pentagon.
The comments highlighted one of the many moving parts that complicate a potential deal between the United States and Iran, as Tehran insists that a cease-fire in Lebanon must be part of any such agreement.
Israeli forces are fighting Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group operating in Lebanon that is regarded as a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.
The conflict has continued despite a cease-fire, which now largely exists only on paper, that was agreed as part of the wider US-Iran truce in force since April 8.
“Our forces crossed the Litani, and they advanced to the dominating terrain. We are operating in Beirut as well, in the Beqaa as well, across the entire front, and striking Hezbollah hard,” Netanyahu said while visiting a military base in northern Israel.
The Pentagon meeting later on May 29 comes after three previous rounds of talks hosted by the United States. Hezbollah has denounced the discussions.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah fighting began when the group launched rocket attacks on Israel in early March, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Iran's Top Negotiator Says Tehran Takes Concessions 'With Missiles,' Not Words
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has laid out a blunt negotiating philosophy that frames any diplomatic agreement with the United States as a temporary cease-fire rather than a lasting resolution.
In a post on X on May 29, Qalibaf wrote in Persian that Iran "takes concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles," adding that negotiations serve only to communicate that reality to the other side.
He said Tehran places no trust in guarantees or written commitments, and that no Iranian action would precede a corresponding move by Washington.
The parliament speaker, who led the only round of peace talks with the US following the April 8 cease-fire, also declared that the winner of any agreement is "whoever prepares better for war in the days after it."
Qalibaf's comments come as US Vice President JD Vance told reporters earlier that Tehran and Washington were "very close" to a peace agreement, but added that it was too early to say "when or if" a deal would be finalized.
Vance told reporters late on May 28 that negotiators were "going back and forth on a couple of language points," including on matters related to uranium enrichment.
Qalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander whose profile rose sharply during the war following the assassination of a slew of prominent figures, is under pressure from hard-liners who insist Iran must secure maximalist demands while making few concessions.
Reports suggest that the emerging deal could extend the current cease-fire by 60 days and open negotiations on the nuclear file.
It would also reportedly restore unrestricted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, give Tehran a month to clear mines from the waterway, lift the US naval blockade, and issue sanctions waivers permitting Iran to resume oil exports.
CENTCOM Denies Claim Iran Shot Down US Drone
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied a claim by Iranian state TV that Iranian forces shot down a US plane near Bushehr.
"No U.S. aircraft were shot down. All U.S. air assets are accounted for," CENTCOM said in a post on X.
Earlier, Iran's state TV reported that air defenses destroyed a "hostile aircraft" in the Jam governorate in Bushehr Province, citing the local governor.
US Expands 'Maximum Pressure' Campaign With Fresh Iran Sanctions
The United States has imposed sanctions on multiple entities, individuals, and vessels linked to Iran's petroleum and petrochemical trade, continuing its "maximum pressure" campaign against the Iranian regime, according to a fact sheet released by US State Department on May 28.
The measures include identifying eight vessels tied to Iranian oil shipments and sanctioning three entities and one individual involved in trading Iranian-origin petrochemical products.
Additionally, the State Department said it is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its various branches.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the sanctions imposed on May 28 "cut off billions in revenue that funds the IRGC, proxy forces, and attacks on our partners."
"Any entity trading Iranian oil faces a serious risk of US sanctions," he added.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Iran's Soccer Team, Training In Mexico, Still Awaiting US Visas
Iran's World Cup soccer team, which is training in Mexico, still has not received its visa for travel to the US, its ambassador to Mexico said on May 28.
The team is training in the northwestern Mexican border city of Tijuana, after it originally planned to have workouts for the upcoming World Cup in Tucson, Arizona.
Ambassador Abolfazl Pasandideh, who visited the Tijuana training site, told a news conference that "the country to the north" -- referring to the US -- has not followed through on its responsibility of hosting the Iranian team.
"We don't know whether or not they're going to give the players their visas," he added.
Iran is scheduled to play its first two World Cup group matches in Los Angeles (June 15 against New Zealand and June 21 against Belgium) then in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.
The head of the Iranian Football Federation has said they were hoping players would be granted multiple entry visas to be able to travel to the games and back to the training base in Mexico.
"We aren't participating in the World Cup on equal terms," Pasandideh said. "We haven't been able to train our team like they should," he said, citing the war in the Middle East.
Iran's participation in the World Cup has been uncertain for months because of the US war with Iran. The Iranian team had requested that its matches be switched to Mexico, which is co-hosting along with the US and Canada, but the request was turned down.
American officials have said they expect the Iranian team to travel to the matches in the US, despite the ongoing war, which currently is under a shaky cease-fire.
With reporting from AFP
US Treasury Chief Warns Oman On Sanctions Day After Trump Threatens To 'Blow Them Up'
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on May 28 threatened to target longtime Gulf ally Oman with sanctions if it helps Iran impose a tolling system in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
In a posting on X. on X, Bessent wrote: "The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz."
"Oman, in particular, should know that the US Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved -- directly or indirectly -- in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalized."
He added that "all nations should reject outright any efforts by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce. Tehran’s days of terrorizing the region and the world are over."
Bessent later told a White House briefing that he had spoken with the Omani ambassador and received assurances that "there were no plans for tolling" the waterway.
"I told him that this was a non-starter and he did not want to risk either the Oman individuals or Omani financial institutions getting sanctioned," Bessent said.
Iran has effectively blocked the crucial strait, through which some 20 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies transited prior to the war. It has threatened to charge ships passing through the international waterway and has sought Oman's partnership in the project.
Oman has helped mediated talks between Washington and Tehran but has itself come under attack from Iran's retaliatory drone and missile strikes.
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump appeared to threaten Oman when asked about a possible arrangement allowing it and Iran to control the strait, saying he would "blow them up" if Oman did so.