The United States and Iran have reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire for 60 days, but US President Donald Trump has not yet approved it, they told Reuters four sources familiar with the matter.
The deal will lay out how to deal with Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which will be among the first issues discussed during the 60-day window, according to a previous report from Axioswho broke the news.
The White House declined to comment.
The Trump administration has said several times that a deal to end the fighting was close, but Iran has disputed or downplayed the claims.
Initially, Trump said the war would last four to six weeks, but now it has lasted three months. At times he suggested the conflict could end in a few days, but then he suggested it could continue for some time.
Over the weekend, expectations of a deal rose when Trump skipped his son’s wedding, citing “government-related circumstances.” On Sunday, a senior Trump administration official downplayed an imminent deal but said there was an understanding in principle about the broad contours of a deal.
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Trump has come under increasing pressure from Iran-hardliners in his own party, who have pressed him not to make any deal that does not immediately address Iran’s nuclear program.
Voters’ growing unrest over high prices, especially gasoline, has increased political pressure on Trump’s Republican Party, which is expected to struggle to maintain control of the House of Representatives and, possibly, the Senate.
Trump has said his main goal in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has always denied that it has plans to do so.
