After weeks of behind-the-scenes diplomatic engagement amid escalating cross-border strikes, negotiators from the United States and Iran have hammered out a tentative agreement to extend an existing fragile ceasefire between the two nations for 60 days. However, the preliminary deal still faces a critical final hurdle: formal sign-off from the top leadership of both countries, a step that remains unresolved as of Wednesday.
The breakthrough comes at a moment of rapidly escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf region. Just hours before news of the tentative deal emerged, the U.S. carried out new airstrikes on targets in southern Iran overnight. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed it had launched a retaliatory strike against an American air base located in the broader Middle East region. This back-and-forth attack cycle has left the original ceasefire on the brink of collapse in recent days, with both Tehran and Washington repeatedly accusing one another of violating the fragile truce.
Multiple anonymous U.S. sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed the tentative deal to BBC reporters, noting that U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet moved to approve the agreement. Per the sources, the draft framework also includes a provision to open formal negotiations on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, a file that has been a core point of contention between the two countries for decades and that the U.S. has long sought to curtail.
On Wednesday, Iranian state media published partial details of what it described as an unofficial 14-point draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) underpinning the deal. The reported terms call for Washington to lift its existing naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw all American military forces from areas adjacent to Iran’s borders, and restore unimpeded non-military commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Under the draft, control over vessel management and routing through the strategic waterway would be shifted to a joint oversight of Iran and Oman.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical global energy chokepoints: roughly 20 percent of the world’s total crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the channel daily. Recent disruptions to traffic through the strait have already sent ripples through global energy markets, disrupting the international fuel trade and pushing up energy prices in many regions.
The White House rejected the Iranian state media report in a sharp, concise statement Wednesday, dismissing the purported leaked MOU draft as “a complete fabrication.” During a regularly scheduled cabinet meeting the same day, Trump struck a hard line on the negotiations, saying Iran was “negotiating on fumes.” The president also insisted that his current strategy of military pressure against Iran would remain completely unaffected by the upcoming November U.S. midterm elections, adding that he is not yet satisfied with the terms of any proposed deal on the table.
Late last week, both diplomatic teams had signaled that tangible progress was being made toward a final agreement, sparking widespread speculation that a formal announcement of a ceasefire deal was imminent. That speculation has now been put on hold as both sides await final leadership decisions on the tentative framework.