US and Iran Reach Preliminary Agreement to Extend Ceasefire by 60 Days

The United States and Iran have reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) to extend the bilateral ceasefire by 60 days and begin negotiations to end the war permanently, according to officials.

US sources told Al Jazeera on May 28 that the framework still requires final approval from President Donald Trump. If finalized, the agreement would mark a major breakthrough after weeks of stalled negotiations.

However, details of the deal remain unclear. It is also uncertain whether the 60-day extension serves as a final deadline for talks. The current ceasefire was already indefinite.

The MOU comes after sporadic clashes between US and Iranian forces in the Gulf threatened to break the truce. Both sides conducted limited attacks early on May 28.

News site Axios first reported the preliminary deal. The White House confirmed the information to Al Jazeera. According to Axios, the agreement stipulates that shipping traffic will be "unrestricted" through the Strait of Hormuz and that the US will lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Tehran has asserted sovereignty over the strategic waterway, arguing that the strait should be jointly managed by Iran and Oman because it passes through the territorial waters of both countries. The US, however, has rejected any form of Iranian control, including a toll system, at the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on May 28, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also threatened to sanction Oman, a close Washington ally, if it facilitated the imposition of fees on vessels transiting the strait. Bessent later declined to confirm details of the agreement and suggested that no deal could meet Trump's preconditions.

"It would be mistaken to get ahead of the president, so everything will be the president's decision," Bessent told reporters. "I think we can see that the president has stated his three conditions very clearly: opening the strait, addressing the issue of high-enriched uranium, and no nuclear weapons program."

Beyond the waterway deal, the reported MOU also requires Iran to commit to not pursuing nuclear weapons. Tehran has repeatedly made this commitment publicly. The late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed by the US and Israel on the first day of the war, issued a religious decree against weapons of mass destruction.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated on May 28 that his country "does not seek nuclear weapons." "We do not conduct diplomacy with humiliation," he was quoted as saying by Iran's ISNA news agency.

While the reported deal may resolve the Hormuz issue, other points of disagreement—including the continuation of US sanctions and the future of Iran's uranium stockpile—will need to be addressed in subsequent negotiations. Iran has stressed its right to enrich uranium domestically, which is not prohibited under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but Trump insists that Iran's entire nuclear program must be dismantled.

The US is also seeking to curtail Iran's missile and drone production, but Tehran has rejected talks on its defense policy. Another issue is the ongoing war in Lebanon, where Israel has intensified attacks, killing dozens in recent weeks and issuing mandatory evacuation orders for the two largest cities in the south of the country.

The Iran-aligned Hezbollah group has also stepped up drone strikes targeting invading Israeli forces. Israel bombed Beirut on May 28 for the first time in three weeks, the second attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire was reached in April. Iran previously stated that any ceasefire must include Lebanon. Separately, the Lebanese government has held direct talks with Israel to end the war. The US previously said Lebanon was not part of the April ceasefire, while still supporting and organizing Lebanon-Israel talks.