Despite a tentative agreement on conditions reached by U.S. and Iranian negotiators, JD Vance stated that it is “hard to say when or if” Donald Trump will approve a proposed Iran ceasefire deal.
Negotiators decided on Thursday to start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program and prolong the ceasefire in the three-month-old conflict by sixty days, according to a U.S. official familiar with the situation.
Iran did not confirm any agreements right away.
Vice President Vance emphasized to reporters on Thursday night that it was still unclear if President Trump would eventually approve the arrangement.
“It’s difficult to predict whether or when the president will sign,” Vance stated.
“We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points,” he continued.
The precarious ceasefire in the conflict between the United States and Iran seemed to be faltering at the time of the developing memorandum of agreement.
According to U.S. Central Command, the most recent escalation of hostilities occurred less than a day ago when Kuwait intercepted missiles fired from Iran.
According to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to comment publicly, the memorandum makes it plain that Iran will not be able to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran will have to remove all mines from the crucial waterway within 30 days.
Despite a tentative agreement on conditions reached by U.S. and Iranian negotiators, JD Vance stated that it is “hard to say when or if” Donald Trump will approve a proposed Iran ceasefire deal.
After an Israeli strike on Tyre, southern Lebanon, on May 28, smoke and a fireball burst from a building.
Approximately one-fifth of the world’s natural gas and oil traffic passed through the strait, which Iran has essentially closed throughout the conflict.
Oil prices have surged globally as a result of its closure. During a news briefing on Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that once an agreement is reached, the price of oil may “come down very quickly.”
Iran claims to be allowing some commercial ships to pass—roughly two dozen per day in recent days as opposed to over 100 per day prior to the conflict—but the Islamic Republic has also imposed tolls on at least some ships.
A new round of U.S. penalties was imposed this week after it established an official gatekeeper agency earlier this month.
The U.S. would gradually reduce its naval blockade of Iranian ports as part of the tentative accord, and sanctions would be loosened, enabling Iran to sell more of its oil.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department placed more restrictions on the Iranian military’s oil sales division even as news of the possible arrangement spread.
The Trump administration’s campaign of economic pressure on the Islamic Republic is extended by the latest penalties, which were originally reported by The Associated Press.
The news organization Axios was the first to report on the tentative agreement’s specifics.
What would happen to Iran’s highly enriched uranium is one of the first topics to be discussed during the 60-day ceasefire, according to the first official.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic possesses 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that has been enriched up to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
On Thursday night, Vance hinted that negotiators were attempting to reach broad terms on the highly enriched uranium included in the tentative agreement, with the details to be worked out in the subsequent discussions.
On May 28, 2026, US Vice President JD Vance gives the commencement address for the 2026 class at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“A couple of issues on the nuclear stuff, the highly enriched stockpile, and also the question of enrichment” were involved in the ongoing back and forth, according to Vance.
Iran has not made a formal commitment to relinquish the stockpile. It is thought to be hidden beneath three nuclear installations that suffered severe damage from American airstrikes last year.
Iran may view China or Russia, who have close ties to Tehran, as a suitable third party to acquire the enriched uranium, according to nuclear analysts.
However, Trump stated on Wednesday that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with the idea.
Vance presented the war’s achievements as something considerably less conclusive, despite the fact that Trump and his staff stated from the outset that one of their main goals was to guarantee that Iran could never possess a nuclear bomb.
“We have the opportunity to significantly slow down their nuclear program, not only during this president’s term but also in the future,” Vance stated. “The American people will benefit greatly from that.”
Iran, which has always argued that its program is benign, has demanded that any agreement include a halt to Israel’s military actions in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a terrorist organization supported by Iran.
Israel launched several strikes on the southern coastal city of Tyre and an airstrike on a southern neighborhood of the capital, Beirut, on Thursday, escalating tensions in Lebanon. The southern part of the country saw at least 14 fatalities.
Kuwait declared on Thursday that incoming missiles and drones were intercepted by its air defense systems, although it did not specify what had been targeted.
Iran claimed to have fired on a U.S. installation in an unnamed Gulf state in retaliation for strikes earlier in the week.
U.S. Central Command referred to the strike on one of America’s most important partners in the Persian Gulf as a “egregious ceasefire violation,” while Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry denounced Iran for what it described as “blatant aggression.”
Prior to the start of the April ceasefire, Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq frequently attacked Kuwait.
After an Israeli strike, a plume of smoke rises near Choueifat, Lebanon, on May 28.
The clash occurred after U.S. authorities announced late Wednesday that American troops had executed additional attacks on Iran, targeting an Iranian ground-control station in Bandar Abbas that was poised to launch a fifth drone and shooting down four one-way attack drones that presented a threat around the strait.
Through the state-run IRNA news agency, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard paramilitary acknowledged the strike near Bandar Abbas International Airport and claimed to have retaliated against the air base that initiated the attacks.
The Revolutionary Guard did not say if Kuwait, which is home to the forward headquarters, air bases, and naval base of U.S. Army Central, was the target of the reaction.
On Monday, the United States claimed to have carried out “self-defense” strikes on minelaying boats and missile launch sites in southern Iran, according to the Pentagon.
Washington and Tehran continue to negotiate and have not resumed full-scale warfare despite exchanging attacks and allegations of ceasefire violations.
“Ceasefires are always a little messy,” but it’s “very much holding,” according to Vance.
Masood Tangestani, the governor of the region, said state television IRIB later on Thursday that Iran’s defenses had downed “a hostile aircraft” near the southern city of Jam. There was no more information available right away.
