WASHINGTON/CAIRO, May 29 — The United States and Iran reached an agreement yesterday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, although US President Donald Trump has yet to approve it and Iranian state media said it had not been finalised.
According to four sources familiar with the matter, the agreement would extend the truce for another 60 days and allow traffic to flow through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle difficult issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme.
If approved by leadership in Washington and Tehran, it would amount to the biggest step towards peace since the conflict began on February 28.
News of the possible agreement came after a round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries, the latest such incident since the ceasefire took effect in early April.
Trump has not yet approved the deal, the sources said. Iran has yet to comment on reports of the proposed agreement, 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 finalised or confirmed.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re very close and we’re going to keep working at it,” US Vice President JD Vance told reporters in Washington.
“I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it,” Vance said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said a deal to end the fighting was close, only for Iran to dispute or downplay the claims.
The agreement would guarantee unrestricted shipping through the strait and would also require the US to lift its blockade of Iranian ports. Washington would also ease some sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
The reports prompted oil prices to fall amid hopes of a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
Earlier, US Central Command said its forces had 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 drone. Kuwaiti forces later intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country, which hosts a major US military base.
A US official also said no American aircraft were shot down near Bushehr, contradicting a report by Iranian state television that a US aircraft had been downed there.
The incidents, although limited, highlighted the fragility of negotiations aimed at turning the tenuous ceasefire into a lasting agreement to end the three-month-old war, which has killed thousands and disrupted global energy markets.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted the US base responsible for the Bandar Abbas attack and warned that any repeat would trigger a “more decisive response”, Tasnim news agency reported.
Kuwait condemned the attack and demanded that Iran immediately halt what it described as a serious escalation.
The violence, the second flare-up this week, coincided with Aidiladha celebrations across the region, where multiple countries have been affected by the conflict.
Mediator Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar would meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington today, although the significance of the visit remained unclear.
Trump has repeatedly said since mid-March that an end to the war was near, although both sides have shown little public movement towards common ground. Iran has called for sanctions to be lifted, foreign assets to be unfrozen and US forces to withdraw from the region. Washington has demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.
Iran said any peace agreement must also end attacks by US ally Israel in Lebanon, but the conflict there has shown no signs of easing. Israel said it had targeted infrastructure linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in the southern city of Tyre and carried out a strike in the capital Beirut. Israel’s offensive deep into Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed in a strike.
Warning to Oman
The US warned Oman against becoming involved in any effort with Iran to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump on Wednesday threatened to bomb the country despite longstanding economic and military ties between the two nations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Oman’s ambassador had told him there were no plans to impose such tolls.
Oman has not mentioned any proposal for joint control of the strait with Iran, although Muscat said it had discussed freedom of navigation with Tehran. Iran expressed solidarity with Oman following what it described as “threats” from US officials.
