U.S. and Iran appear to reach ceasefire deal, but Trump needs to approve, sources say

May. 28, 2026, 6:28 PM EDT

Negotiators for the United States and Iran appear to have reached a deal to extend the ceasefire by 60 days, but are awaiting President Donald Trump’s approval, U.S. sources told MS NOW on Thursday.

If Trump agrees to the deal, it would extend the ceasefire and open negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program during the extended ceasefire, pushing the thorniest details over Iran’s nuclear ambitions down the road.

Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday evening that while he “can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there” in reaching a deal with Iran, “The president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that’s still TBD.”

Axios was the first to report on the potential agreement, which MS NOW has not reviewed independently. However, U.S. sources confirmed various details of the possible deal to MS NOW. According to the sources, during the 60-day ceasefire extension:

• Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be “unrestricted”
• Iran would have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days
• The U.S. naval blockade would be lifted in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping
• The U.S. would issue some sanctions waivers to allow Iran to sell oil

The U.S. sources also said the memorandum of understanding that is awaiting Trump’s approval includes Iran’s commitment to not pursue a nuclear weapon as well as the U.S.’s commitment to discuss sanctions relief and the release of Iranian money frozen in foreign banks. The first issue to be negotiated, according to this possible agreement, is the disposal of Iran’s highly enriched uranium and the country’s enrichment program, the sources said.

The possible deal would also end the war between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, sources said. Still, U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are expected to move ahead as scheduled for Friday at the Pentagon and next week at the State Department, a U.S. official told MS NOW.

News of a possible deal follows a recent exchange of strikes in the Middle East, with U.S. Central Command earlier Thursday accusing Iran of an “egregious ceasefire violation” by targeting Kuwait with a missile hours earlier. Kuwaiti forces successfully intercepted the missile, the U.S. military said.

“This egregious ceasefire violation by the Iranian regime occurred hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a statement Thursday on social media.

“All drones were successfully intercepted by U.S. forces which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas,” the statement said. “U.S. Central Command and regional partners remain vigilant and measured as we continue to defend our forces and interests from unjustified Iranian aggression.”

A U.S. official told MS NOW in a statement Wednesday that the ceasefire agreement remains in effect and described the U.S. military actions as “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire.”

Trump said Wednesday that Iran wants “very much to make a deal” but “they haven’t gotten there,” adding that Iran was “negotiating on fumes.”

“We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump told reporters at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, adding, “They’re negotiating on fumes. But we’ll see what happens. Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don’t.”

When asked Thursday during a White House press briefing about a possible U.S.-Iran deal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to confirm whether an agreement had been reached.

“Everything depends on what the president wants to do,” Bessent said. “And President Trump is not going to make a bad deal for the American people, for the U.S., and he was very clear at the Cabinet meeting … what he wants.”

Trump said Saturday that his administration had “largely” reached a deal that would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which 20% of the world’s oil supply flows.

Key Republicans, however, said they were skeptical of Trump’s deal because it was unclear whether it required Iran to give up its supply of enriched uranium or reduce its vast stockpile of missiles.

The conflict began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Irankilling Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While a fragile ceasefire took effect in April, efforts to negotiate a long-term deal have been unsuccessful.

A top Pentagon official told Congress the war has cost an estimated $25 billion as of early May, though Democrats have said it is likely higher.

Also at issue is Israel’s war with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group based in southern Lebanon, a major hurdle in the failed rounds of U.S.-Iran peace negotiations. Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade strikes amid an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreed to in May.

The war’s effects have rippled across the world. In the U.S., gas and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed, and Trump’s poll numbers have plummeted.

Trump has also faced criticism for what appeared to be inconsistent objectives for the war’s aims, an ever-expanding timeline for how long it would last and an expletive-laden Easter Sunday message in which he threatened to obliterate Iranian civilization.

The war has led to more than 6,900 deaths across the Middle East, according to figures compiled by MS NOW. That includes more than 3,600 people in Iran, more than 3,100 people in Lebanon, at least 13 U.S. soldiers and at least a half dozen U.N. peacekeepers.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Carla Herreria and Hayley Meissner contributed reporting.