US and Iran reach ceasefire extension deal pending Trump’s final approval
U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding extending the current ceasefire and launching negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, but the deal still needs President Donald Trump’s final approval, U.S. sources confirmed to Fox News.
The deal follows weeks of talks threatened by heightened tensions after the U.S. engaged in defensive strikes on Iran.
The U.S. first launched “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran on Monday, with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) claiming the U.S. targeted Iranian boats spotted laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM also claimed an Iranian missile had targeted U.S. warplanes.
The U.S. responded by eliminating both Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) boats spotted laying the mines and a surface-to-air (SAM) missile site in Bandar Abbas, U.S. officials previously told Fox News.
The U.S. then shot down an array of Iranian drones in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday shortly before Iran launched a ballistic missile strike on U.S. ally Kuwait. Though Kuwaiti forces successfully intercepted the missile, CENTCOM called the launch an “egregious ceasefire violation.”
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Trump on Wednesday said Iran was “negotiating on fumes” and that the sides hadn’t yet reached a deal.
“So far they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be, we will be. Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job,” he warned.
The major sticking point for both sides is Iran’s nuclear capability. Trump has long maintained that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, a position he reiterated Wednesday.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding, “with Operation Epic Fury, our warriors are ensuring that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror never obtains a nuclear weapon. And they won’t.”
Iran has also called the nuclear issue their “red line.”
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, wrote in an X post that Iran’s red lines include the country’s right to enrich uranium, maintain stockpiles of enriched uranium and control the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of sanctions.
“It is obvious Trump, seeking a way out of this strategic deadlock, alternates between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement,” Azizi wrote on X.
Axios first reported about the memorandum of understanding being reached earlier Thursday.
Fox News’ National Security Correspondent, Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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