Washington, May 30:
Donald Trump said Friday that he was holding a high-level Situation Room meeting at the White House with senior advisers to make a “final determination” on whether to proceed with a tentative agreement aimed at extending the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
The proposed arrangement, negotiated over recent days, would extend the ceasefire in the three-month-old conflict by 60 days while opening a fresh round of talks focused on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.
The announcement came after reports by multiple media outlets, including The Associated Press, that US and Iranian negotiators had broadly agreed on the framework of the deal. However, US Vice President JD Vance cautioned that several contentious issues remained unresolved, including disagreements over language and the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile.
Speaking Thursday evening, Vance said negotiators were still going “back and forth” on matters related to Iran’s enrichment programme and the handling of its uranium reserves. He added that it remained uncertain whether Trump would ultimately approve the proposal.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf struck a defiant tone while commenting on the talks. In a post on X, he said Iran had “no trust in guarantees or words” and would only respond to concrete actions from the other side. He argued that Iran achieved concessions “through missiles” rather than negotiations and stressed that military readiness remained essential even if an agreement was signed.
One of the central issues in the negotiations is Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran possesses about 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity — a short technical step away from weapons-grade material enriched to 90 per cent. The US and its allies have long expressed concern that Iran could potentially move toward developing a nuclear weapon, although Tehran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
Vance indicated that negotiators were attempting to establish broad principles regarding the uranium stockpile during the current talks, while leaving detailed technical arrangements for future negotiations. Analysts have suggested that countries such as China or Russia could potentially hold Iran’s enriched uranium as part of a compromise deal, though Trump has publicly said he would not be comfortable with such an arrangement.
The proposed memorandum also addresses security concerns in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. According to a US official familiar with the discussions, Iran would be required to stop imposing tolls on vessels passing through the strait and remove all naval mines from the waterway within 30 days.
During the conflict, Iran effectively restricted access to the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes. The disruption caused sharp increases in global energy prices and raised fears of a broader economic crisis. Although Iran has recently allowed a limited number of commercial ships to pass, traffic remains far below pre-war levels.
In return for Iranian concessions, the United States would gradually ease its naval blockade on Iranian ports and relax certain sanctions, enabling Tehran to increase oil exports. However, even as negotiations continued, the US Treasury Department announced additional sanctions targeting Iran’s military-linked oil sales operations, underscoring Washington’s continued pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.
Iran has also insisted that any wider agreement must address regional tensions, including Israeli military operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Although the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran has largely held for several weeks despite periodic violations and military exchanges, both sides remain cautious as negotiations continue.