Vance says US not there yet on Iran, but close to deal

• The US and Iran reportedly agreed to extend their ceasefire for 60 days and lift Strait of Hormuz shipping restrictions, but the deal awaits Trump's approval and Iran denies finalisation.
• Recent tit-for-tat attacks saw the US down Iranian drones and strike a station, followed by Kuwait intercepting an Iranian missile, highlighting fragile negotiations.
• Significant obstacles to lasting peace include Iran's nuclear programme, US sanctions, US troop withdrawal, and Israel's attacks in Lebanon, preventing common ground.

WASHINGTON/DUBAI – US Vice-President J.D. Vance on May 28 told reporters that Washington was “not there yet” with Iran on an agreement, but that the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran’s nuclear programme.

He said there were a couple of sticking points in talks with Tehran concerning its enriched uranium stockpile and the question of enrichment.

“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the President is going to sign the MOU. We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points,” Mr Vance said, hours after US sources said Washington and Tehran had agreed on a deal.

“I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it,” he said.

Sources earlier told Reuters that the US and Iran had reached an agreement to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pending US President Donald Trump’s approval.

According to four sources familiar with the matter, the agreement would extend the truce by another 60 days and allow traffic to flow through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle difficult issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme.

If approved by leaders in Washington and Tehran, it would amount to the biggest step towards peace since the conflict began on Feb 28.

News of the possible agreement came after a round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries, the latest such incidents since the ceasefire took effect in early April.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of the agreement had not been finalised or confirmed.

The Trump administration has several times said a deal to end the fighting was close, only to have Iran dispute or downplay the claims.

The deal would specify unrestricted shipping through the strait and would also require the US to lift its blockade of Iranian ports. The US would also lift some sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

The reports prompted oil prices to fall on hopes of a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Earlier, US Central Command said its forces had shot down five Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a sixth.

Kuwaiti forces then intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country, which hosts a large US military base.

A US official also said no American aircraft had been shot down near Bushehr, Iran, contradicting a report by Iranian state television that a US aircraft had been downed there.

The incidents, while limited, highlighted the fragility of negotiations to turn the tenuous ceasefire into a lasting agreement to end the three-month-old war, which has killed thousands and upended global energy markets.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted the US base responsible for the Bandar Abbas attack and that any repeat would lead to a “more decisive response”, Tasnim News Agency reported.

Kuwait condemned the attack and demanded that Iran immediately halt what it called a serious escalation. The violence, the second flare-up this week, coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha celebrated across the region, where multiple countries have been caught up in the conflict.

Mediator Pakistan said its Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar would meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on May 29, although the significance of the visit was unclear.

Mr Trump has repeatedly said since mid-March that an end to the war is close, though the two sides have shown little public movement towards common ground.

Iran has called for sanctions to be lifted, foreign assets to be unfrozen, and US forces to withdraw from the region. Washington has called for Iran to dismantle its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.

Iran says any peace deal must also end attacks by US ally Israel in Lebanon, but that conflict shows no signs of abating. Israel said it had targeted infrastructure belonging to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in the southern city of Tyre and carried out a strike in the capital, Beirut.

Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of people with a push deep into Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah. The Lebanese army said a strike had killed one of its soldiers.

Warning to Oman

The US warned Oman not to get involved in any effort with Iran to impose a toll in the Strait of Hormuz, and Mr Trump on May 27 threatened to bomb the country despite the two nations’ history of economic and military ties.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Oman’s ambassador had told him there were no plans to impose such tolls.

Oman has not mentioned the idea of joint control of the strait with Iran, with which it says it has discussed freedom of navigation. Tehran expressed solidarity with Oman after what it called “US officials’ threats”. REUTERS, AFP