U.S. officials said the sides were discussing a “memorandum of understanding” that could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but it still needs President Trump’s sign-off. Iran has not confirmed any commitments. Share full articleImagePresident Trump has demanded that Iran give up its nuclear program and enriched uranium.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Latest PinnedUpdated May 29, 2026, 10:48 a.m. ETMaggie HabermanJonathan SwanTyler PagerDavid E. Sanger and Hari Raj Here’s the latest.The fate of the negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war remained unclear on Friday after U.S. officials said there had been progress toward a “memorandum of understanding.” The potential agreement still needs approval from President Trump, who has not commented publicly, and Iran has not confirmed any commitments. In recent days, the sides have exchanged fire, and Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened a return to full-scale war. The U.S. officials said the possible deal could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil and gas shipping, and extend the cease-fire, paving the way to more talks on Iran’s nuclear program. The officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, were granted anonymity to discuss the U.S. view of the current negotiations. Should an agreement be finalized, it could give Mr. Trump an off-ramp from a war that has driven up oil prices and grown deeply unpopular at home. It could also eventually allow Iran to regain access to frozen overseas assets and provide a route for Tehran to get billions of dollars of oil revenue flowing again. Mr. Trump has vowed to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon and demanded that it agree to dispose of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran has resisted limits on its nuclear program. Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, struck a hard-line tone on Friday, saying his country had “no trust in guarantees or words.” Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, struck a hardline tone on Friday after a week of tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran. “We do not gain concessions through dialogue, but through missiles,” he wrote on social media, as U.S. officials said the two sides were moving closer to a preliminary agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the cease-fire. Mr. Ghalibaf said Iran had “no trust in guarantees or words,” adding that “no step will be taken before the other side acts first.” Lebanese and Israeli military officials are set to meet at the Pentagon on Friday as part of U.S.-backed talks aimed at seeking a longer-term settlement to end the fighting in Lebanon, at the end of one of the deadliest weeks there since a cease-fire began in April. Israel has ramped up its offensive against Hezbollah in recent days, with strikes in the south of the country and in the outskirts of Beirut, and more evacuation warnings for southern Lebanese towns issued on Friday. Hezbollah has also kept up drone attacks on Israeli troops. The meeting in Washington is expected to focus heavily on Hezbollah’s disarmament, which has been a sticking point in efforts to end the conflict. Markets were choppy in early trading, with investors wary of the signs that there may be an agreement to end the war, or at least extend a cease-fire. The price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, fell more than 1 percent, to around $91 per barrel for delivery in August. The price of oil dropped below $100 a barrel this week, where it has remained, as apparent progress in the negotiations hinted at a potential reopening of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil and gas from the Middle East. But recall that oil traded closer to $70 a barrel just before the start of the war. Notes: Data shows future contract prices for Brent crude oil. Gaps indicate nontrading hours. Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Here’s what to know about a draft U.S.-Iran plan said to be on the table.ImageA billboard in Tehran depicting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in May.Credit...Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York TimesFor weeks, mediators between Iran and the United States have been trying to hammer out a preliminary agreement that might ultimately end the war. Those efforts have been repeatedly foiled as the warring sides have accused each other of stalling or misrepresenting the terms. Now, officials involved in the talks say a new draft memorandum is under discussion that is closer to gaining approval from both sides, though they have differing accounts of some of the terms. President Trump has not yet signed off. It would be an initial framework, paving the way for more substantive — and most likely more challenging and prolonged — negotiations to determine the future of Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. sanctions on the country and a formal end to the war. In recent days, there have been brief exchanges of fire between U.S. and Iranian forces, adding to the pressure on negotiators to reach an agreement. Diplomats involved in the talks said that the longer the haggling went on, the more frustrated the two sides might get and exchanges of fire might increase — which risks further endangering the broader diplomatic effort. Here are some of the details under discussion in the latest proposal, according to an Iranian official, U.S. officials and two diplomats involved in the latest talks, who all spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the draft. The agreement is likely to stipulate terms for a nonaggression pact between Washington and Tehran. Mediators say it is expected to have a regional component, which Iranian officials and one of the diplomats said would include a halt to fighting in Lebanon. Despite a cease-fire there, both sides have continuously violated it. And Israel recently stepped up a military offensive against the Iran-backed militant group, Hezbollah. Yet, lingering vagaries remain. Because the negotiations have taken place through the Pakistanis and Qataris, it has never been clear whether the Americans and the Iranians have been working on the same version of the memorandum, or who exactly has the authority on the Iranian side to signal an agreement. The two diplomats briefed on the latest terms said the preliminary agreement outlined an end to hostilities for an initial 60-day period, allowing for negotiations between the two sides, with the possibility for that to be extended. The version of the draft described by the Iranian official, however, says the terms included a “declaration of the end of war” on all fronts, including Lebanon, for the duration of the negotiations. Two Iranian officials said the terms in the memorandum of understanding pertain only to the period of negotiations for a broader, more permanent deal. The agreement was expected to allow for a period of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for commercial shipping through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed before the war. Iranian attacks effectively closed the strait soon after the U.S.-Israeli assault started in February, rattling the global economy. In response, the U.S. Navy imposed its own naval blockade of Iran’s ports and energy outposts in the Persian Gulf. Under the U.S. understanding of the memorandum, the strait would reopen immediately, an official said, but the U.S. blockade would remain, but reduced in stages depending how much prewar ship traffic is restored by Iran. The idea is to incentivize Iran to demine the strait quickly. The diplomat briefed on the latest framework said Iran had agreed to allow maritime traffic to return to prewar levels for 30 days, while the two sides negotiated a final deal. Despite that hope, the process of demining and opening the strait could take weeks. Tehran is still debating with Washington what would happen after that, he said. The Iranian official said the deal would see the U.S. naval blockade lifted “within 30 days” and the Strait of Hormuz opened for the duration of the talks. The United States has placed no time frame on it, a U.S. official said. Iranian negotiators are sticking to their contention that Iran and Oman, whose territory borders the strait, have the right to determine whether to impose some form of service fee for passing vessels after that period, mediators say. On Wednesday, President Trump repeated his assertion that the international waterway should ultimately remain open to all, without any tolls or fees. Some U.S. negotiators have suggested that the longer-term status of the strait be pushed into a second round of talks, the diplomat said. Perhaps the most surprising, and apparently recent, addition to the agreement is a reference to an investment fund for Iran. The Iranian official and one diplomat put it at $300 billion, but other officials involved in mediation would not confirm the amount. The Iranian official described it as a “reconstruction program” that would be promised to Iran in the event a final agreement was signed. Earlier in the negotiations, Tehran had demanded reparations for bombardment damage that some Iranian officials estimate at $300 billion to $1 trillion.
Original Source: NYTimes
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