In a significant diplomatic development, the US and Iranian negotiators have reportedly reached a tentative 60-day memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at extending a fragile ceasefire and paving the way for formal talks on Iran`s nuclear programme.
According to an Axios report, the agreement is awaiting approval from President Donald Trump and final confirmation from Iran.
The proposed MoU is intended to create a pathway for formal negotiations between the two countries to address the ongoing crisis in West Asia. While officials on both sides indicated that most terms had been settled by Tuesday, final approval from the top leadership remains pending.
One US official noted that President Trump had requested a few days to review the final draft before committing to the framework, Axios reported.
The deal, if finalised, would mark the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the conflict began on February 28.
However, officials noted that a comprehensive agreement addressing Trump`s nuclear demands would still require extensive negotiations.
Trump reviews tentative US-Iran framework amid fresh military exchanges
“This is an agreement to get everybody to the table. We will work out the details in the negotiations,” one of the US officials said, as reported by Axios.
US officials said most terms had been agreed upon by Tuesday, but final approval from senior leadership on both sides was still pending.
They further claimed that Iranian officials later conveyed they had received the necessary approvals and were ready to sign, although Tehran has not independently confirmed the claim.
The US negotiators have briefed Trump on the final draft, but he has not yet given his approval. “The president relayed to the mediators that he wants a couple of days to think about it,” the US official said, as quoted by Axios.
The development comes amid fresh exchanges between the two sides. CBS News reported that the United States (US) carried out strikes on Iran on Wednesday, citing a US official who described the action as “defensive” and aimed at preserving a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
According to CBS News, US forces shot down four Iranian drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth drone.
The official added that despite the latest exchange, the US-Iran ceasefire was still considered to be holding.
Iran launches retaliatory strikes as proposed MoU outlines nuclear curbs
Following the strikes, Iran`s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched early-morning strikes at an American base. However, it did not share the name or provide specific details of the attack.
“Following the pre-dawn aggression today by the invading American army against a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport using aerial projectiles, the American airbase, as the origin of the aggression, was targeted at 4:50 a.m,” the IRGC said in a statement.
Later, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that Iran launched the strikes toward Kuwait, which were “successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces”.
Under the proposed MoU, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would remain “unrestricted”, and Iran would be required to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days, officials said, according to Axios.
The agreement would also include a US naval de-escalation, to be implemented in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping.
The MoU reportedly includes an Iranian commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons and lays out that initial negotiations during the 60-day period would focus on the disposal of Iran`s highly enriched uranium and limits on enrichment activities.
In return, the US would discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian assets as part of the broader negotiations, Axios reported.
Proposed US-Iran framework offers economic relief in exchange for nuclear commitments
The MoU would also explore mechanisms to facilitate humanitarian aid and the flow of goods into Iran.
According to Axios, citing a US official, Iran could benefit economically from the deal.
“There are people in their system that understand that it is an opportunity to go in a different direction,” the official said, adding, “We will find out during the 60-day negotiations if that`s the case.”
Officials further clarified that there would be no side deals or hidden clauses regarding sanctions relief or financial transfers.
“The more the Iranians are willing to give, the more they will get,” one official said, as quoted by Axios.
Netanyahu orders expanded Gaza control
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had ordered the country`s military to take control of 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip, in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October.
“We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60 percent of the territory in the strip,” he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement, according to a video aired by Israel`s Channel 12 network.
Netanyahu further stated that the military had controlled 50 per cent of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire, adding: “My directive is to move to… 70 percent. We`re squeezing them from all (sides). We`ll deal with what`s left afterwards.”
The first phase of the truce saw the last hostages seized in Hamas`s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel released in exchange for Palestinians detained by Tel Aviv.
The transition to the second phase, which was supposed to involve Hamas`s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has been stalled for months.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli forces were to pull back behind a so-called “yellow line”, a demarcation between the area under Hamas control and that held by the Israeli army.
Residents flee damaged Beirut building after reported Israeli airstrike
Israel`s military said it launched an airstrike in the Beirut area on Thursday, while a Lebanese source said an apartment was hit, marking the second such strike since the April ceasefire announcement.
The escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday, and for US-brokered talks early next week — the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war erupted on March 2.
After heavy strikes that Lebanese authorities said killed at least 14 people, including three children, Israel`s military said it “precisely struck in Beirut”, without identifying the target.
A Lebanese military source, requesting anonymity, told AFP that “an Israeli strike targeted an apartment in the Choueifat area”.
AFPTV footage showed smoke rising from the area on the edge of Beirut`s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
An AFP correspondent said the first two floors of a residential building were damaged and saw residents packing cars and leaving.
48 killed in Colombia jungle clashes amid renewed rebel violence
Clashes between two dissident factions of the disbanded FARC guerrilla movement left 48 people dead in the Colombian Amazon, a local mayor told AFP on Thursday, days ahead of the May 31 presidential election.
“The bodies are lying there in a heap, they need to be evacuated,” Willy Rodriguez, the mayor of the regional capital San Jose del Guaviare, situated six hours from the scene of the fighting, told AFP over phone.
Colombia has been rocked by the worst wave of violence since FARC laid down arms in 2016 after half a century of war with the government.
Various smaller guerrilla factions are vying for control of jungle territory once controlled by the rebel army, as well as revenues from drug trafficking and illegal mining.
The mayor said the fighting took place in the hamlet of Vereda Piripal and that the community itself provided the provisional death toll.
An army source told AFP that the fighting in a historic FARC stronghold began on Monday.
Three injured in Swiss train station knife attack, authorities call it terror act
A knife attack by a man reportedly shouting “Allahu akbar” that wounded three people at a Swiss train station on Thursday was a “terrorist act”, a regional security official said.
“I am exceptionally calling this a terrorist attack,” Mario Fehr, in charge of security in the Swiss canton of Zurich, told reporters, while police commander Marius Weyermann said it was “clear from the scene that the motive for this act must be sought in the realm of radicalisation and extremism”.
Italy issues red alert for Rome as Europe faces extreme early-summer heatwave
Italy issued a red alert warning for the capital Rome on Thursday, while Portugal and France reported their hottest May days as Europe struggled with a heatwave that has smashed temperature records across the continent.
Britain and France have already reported their hottest-ever May days this week as a “heat dome” brought sweltering temperatures usually unseen until high summer to western Europe.
Several people have died in both Britain and France, mostly in drowning accidents that authorities have linked to the intense heat, while Portugal`s Health Minister Ana Paula Martins said the heatwave had caused a spike in hospitalisations.
The temperature peaked at 40.3 degrees Celsius in Portugal`s central town of Mora on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of 40 degrees Celsius set in May 2001, the meteorological agency said on Thursday, warning that the heatwave had a “high likelihood” of lasting into early June.
Italy has so far been spared the highest temperatures, but officials on Thursday warned people in Rome and four northern cities to stay out of the sun.
“We`re sweating a lot,” said Spanish tourist Nana Martinez Garcia, trying to stay cool outside Rome`s Colosseum on Thursday as temperatures touched 32 degrees Celsius.
(With ANI and AFP inputs)