US Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Tehran are close to agreeing a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, but a potential breakthrough is still dependent on President Donald Trump’s approval.
Trump remained notably silent until Friday morning, despite US sources telling AFP that an agreement required only his signature, underscoring the instability of the talks three months after a war that has rocked the Middle East and the global economy.
“It is difficult to say when and whether the President will sign the MOU,” Vance told reporters Thursday. “We’ve been going back and forth on some points of the language. We’ve made a lot of progress here.”
Optimism over a potential US-Iran deal boosted Asian stock markets on Friday, while oil prices fell slightly.
Energy markets were jittery this week as investors weighed the prospects for a deal that could potentially resume normal shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
According to US media reports, under the potential agreement shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be unrestricted, with no tolls or harassment, while Iran would remove mines within 30 days and the US would lift its naval blockade if commercial traffic resumed.
But Iran has not confirmed any commitment to any deal, and sources have told Iranian media that any agreement announced unilaterally by Trump would not be recognized.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to Tehran’s negotiators, also said the text had not been finalized and that key mediator Pakistan would be informed if an agreement was reached.
Qatar’s role in the talks has increased and the Gulf country’s state news agency said late Thursday that Trump had called its ruler to discuss the “latest updates” on efforts to end the war.
Doha hosted Iranian officials this week as regional nations push for a resolution to the US-Iran war despite a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since April 8.
eliminate violations
As behind-the-scenes diplomacy continues, Washington and Tehran have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, with Iranian firing in response to US attacks on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas this week.
State broadcaster IRIB, citing the Revolutionary Guards, reported that Tehran had responded to the US attacks by targeting “an American airbase that served as the source of the attack”.
The Guards did not specify the location of the base, but Kuwait, which hosts US troops, said its air defenses responded to the incoming fire.
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned “the criminal Iranian attacks, which targeted the territory of the State of Kuwait with missiles and drones, leading to a dangerous escalation.”
US Central Command called the attack a “serious ceasefire violation”.
Iranian forces also fired on four ships trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz without permission, IRIB reported on Thursday. Iran has blocked the waterway since the war began.
The US military said it had intercepted five attack drones in and around the strait and intercepted the launch of a sixth drone near Bandar Abbas.
A US official told AFP that the action was “measured” and “intended to preserve the ceasefire”.
Iran’s guards threatened a “strong response” to any new attacks.
Iranian state TV said on Friday that in coordination with the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Foreign Ministry, 24 ships had transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.
But it warned that “ships from hostile countries will face severe response from the Iranian military”.
lebanon palace hit
On the Lebanon front of the war, the country’s culture minister told AFP on Friday that Israel had attacked a medieval castle that overlooks the southern city of Nabatieh, warning that other heritage sites were in “grave danger”.
“The bombs fell very close to the ruins of Tyre,” said Ghassan Salame, who is involved in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. He said there was a “direct attack” on the medieval Beaufort castle in the Nabatieh area.
The Israeli army used the palace, also known as Qal’at al-Chaqif, as a base during its two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000.
A ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah was scheduled to take effect on April 17, but it never materialized.
Both sides accuse the other of violating it and justify their attacks on the basis of alleged violations by the other camp.
Lebanon became involved in the Middle East war in early March when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in the US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and ground invasions.
On Thursday Israel launched deadly attacks on southern Lebanon and stepped up its offensive with the first raid in weeks near Beirut, where officials said a woman and two children were killed despite a ceasefire.