American and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on the terms of a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would extend the existing ceasefire between the two nations and launch formal negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program — but the agreement has not yet been finalized. President Donald Trump has not given his final approval, and Tehran has not formally confirmed its acceptance, according to two U.S. officials and a regional source involved in the mediation efforts. If signed, the memorandum would mark the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the U.S.-Iran war began in February 2026.
The Deal That Still Needs a Signature
The core terms of the draft memorandum, as described by U.S. officials, center on a guaranteed reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a structured 60-day window for broader negotiations. The terms of the deal were described as mostly agreed upon as of Tuesday, though both sides still required approval from senior leadership. A U.S. official described the document as foundational rather than final. “This is an agreement to get everybody to the table. We will work out the details in the negotiations,” the official said.
Central to the memorandum is the question of the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil supply and has been choked with conflict and uncertainty since hostilities began. Roughly 20% of the world’s energy supply passes through that narrow waterway each day, and Iran has sought to threaten the strait to spike global energy prices and tighten global supply chains. U.S. officials said the memorandum would stipulate that shipping through the strait will be “unrestricted,” meaning no tolls and no harassment, and that Iran would be required to remove all mines from the waterway within 30 days of signing. In exchange, the United States would commit to discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds as part of the subsequent 60-day negotiations.
“An Opportunity to Go in a Different Direction”
U.S. officials expressed measured optimism about the agreement’s potential, while stopping short of declaring success. One official framed Iran’s decision as a pivotal moment for the country’s economic future. “Iran now has a chance to unshackle its economy,” the official said, adding that “there are people in their system that understand that it is an opportunity to go in a different direction.” The official was careful to note that nothing would be settled until the formal negotiating period ran its course. “We will find out during the 60-day negotiations if that’s the case,” the official added.
Trump, for his part, signaled he remained unsatisfied with where things stood. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the president said he was not yet in a rush to finalize anything and indicated the United States was not currently discussing the easing of sanctions — one of Tehran’s primary demands. The comments reinforced the fragile and incomplete nature of the agreement, even as U.S. and Iranian negotiators were finalizing the memorandum’s language behind the scenes.
A War That Traces Back to February 28
The conflict now being negotiated to an end was triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026 — an operation that upended the regional order and rapidly drew in multiple neighboring states. The U.S. and Israel launched targeted strikes on Iran at the start of the conflict, with Trump initially warning that the United States had already met its military objectives and was far along toward a definitive long-term agreement. The war has killed thousands and disrupted global energy markets, driving U.S. inflation to some of its highest levels in years. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped by 88 percent in the months following the initial strikes.
An early diplomatic milestone came on April 8, when Trump announced a conditional two-week ceasefire, pausing planned military operations on the condition that Iran agreed to allow shipping to resume through the strait. Trump called it a “big day for world peace,” saying Tehran had signaled readiness to move toward reconstruction and that a 10-point proposal from Iran was forming the basis of a potential long-term peace agreement. But even then, sticking points remained — particularly over Iran’s nuclear program, its enriched uranium stockpile, and the question of who would ultimately control the strait.
Talks Repeatedly Stalled
The path to the current memorandum has been anything but smooth. Trump and his advisers believed multiple times during the conflict that a deal was close, only to watch negotiations collapse under the weight of competing demands. Iran’s state media pushed back on several of Trump’s public characterizations of progress, with some outlets close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps calling his claims of a “largely negotiated” deal “incomplete and inconsistent with reality.” Key sticking points included reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s uranium stockpile, and billions in frozen assets, with the two sides also disputing the actual content of the proposed memorandum.
Skirmishes in the Strait
Even as negotiators were finalizing the memorandum’s terms this week, military exchanges between U.S. and Iranian forces continued. U.S. Central Command reported that American forces shot down five Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a sixth. Kuwaiti forces subsequently intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward the country, which hosts a major U.S. military installation. The IRGC confirmed it had targeted the base it held responsible for the early-morning action near Bandar Abbas airport and warned that any repeat would lead to “a more decisive response.” A U.S. military official described the American response as “measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire.” Kuwait condemned the attack and demanded Iran immediately halt what it called a serious escalation.
The exchanges marked the second military flare-up within a single week and coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha — a timing that added symbolic weight to the violence across a region where multiple countries have been drawn into the wider conflict. Despite the skirmishes, U.S. and Iranian negotiators continued their work, with mediator Pakistan announcing that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar would travel to Washington on Friday to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Treasury Draws a Hard Line on Oman
Amid the diplomacy, a separate confrontation emerged over the role of Oman — a Gulf state with longstanding military and economic ties to the United States that had been in discussions with Iran regarding freedom of navigation through the strait. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a direct public warning Thursday, drawing a clear line against any effort to impose a tolling system on Strait of Hormuz traffic. “The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz,” Bessent wrote. “Oman, in particular, should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved — directly or indirectly — in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalized.”
The Treasury Department followed its warning with concrete action, sanctioning Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), calling the body a vehicle for illegal tolling schemes. Treasury also warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or disguising them as aid payments. OFAC confirmed separately that payments to the Government of Iran or the IRGC — directly or indirectly — for safe passage through the strait would not be authorized for U.S. persons, including U.S. financial institutions, and that such payments also create significant sanctions exposure for non-U.S. persons.
Trump reinforced the message in his own terms, stating that the Strait of Hormuz constitutes international waters and that no single country would exercise control over it. The president’s remarks about Oman were notably pointed. “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up,” Trump said Wednesday. “They understand that, they’ll be fine.” Iran, in response, expressed solidarity with Oman after what it called threatening language from U.S. officials.
Lebanon and the Wider Regional Picture
The conflict’s reach extended beyond Iran and the Strait during the same period. Israel announced it had launched strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, as well as a strike in the capital Beirut. The Lebanese army reported that a soldier was killed in one of the strikes. Iran has consistently maintained that Lebanon — and by extension Hezbollah — must be addressed as part of any comprehensive peace agreement, complicating the bilateral U.S.-Iran framework being negotiated. Israel, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon through its push against Hezbollah, reported that air raid sirens were activated in its northern territory during the same period.
What Comes Next
The memorandum of understanding, if finalized and signed, would serve as a bridge — not an endpoint. It would extend the current ceasefire for 60 days and create the formal structure for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, frozen assets, and the long-term status of the Strait of Hormuz. Those negotiations are expected to be intensive and contentious, with the nuclear question remaining the most consequential unresolved issue. Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran must relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Tehran has shown no indication it intends to capitulate on that point without substantial concessions in return. For now, the deal exists — on paper, in principle, and awaiting the signatures that would make it real.