Iran is studying a proposed interim agreement with the United States as both sides seek a path out of a three-month war that has disrupted global energy markets and intensified fighting in Lebanon.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iran is reviewing a proposed temporary agreement with the United States that could extend a fragile ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt months of fighting that have strained the global economy and fueled a wider regional crisis.
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported Tuesday that Tehran has not yet responded to the proposed final text. The report cited a source saying Iranian officials are taking a “stern” approach because of longstanding mistrust and what Tehran views as a history of U.S. non-compliance.
President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations with Iran were continuing and that he expected a deal within the next week to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has repeatedly said since mid-March that the two sides were close to an agreement.
The conflict began Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Since then, the war has settled into a stalemate, with mostly indirect negotiations failing to produce a final agreement. A ceasefire has largely held since early April, although the United States and Iran have exchanged strikes several times over the past week.
The war has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and has pushed up global energy prices after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway previously carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Oil prices fell more than 1% Tuesday after sharp gains the day before, though a senior International Energy Agency official warned that global oil inventories could fall to historically low levels.
Tehran is seeking a limited interim deal that would ease economic pressure without requiring major concessions on its nuclear program, according to Iranian sources. Iran is seeking an end to hostilities across multiple fronts, including Lebanon, access to billions of dollars in oil revenue, waivers on crude exports, removal of the U.S. blockade on its ports and continued leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump faces pressure to reopen the strait and lower U.S. fuel prices while avoiding concessions that would strengthen Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that 24 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours after receiving permission from the Guards’ navy. Iran also threatened Monday to expand its blockade to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea, if Israel resumed strikes on Beirut.
The war with Iran has also reignited fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has carried out its deepest incursion into Lebanon in 25 years, and Lebanese security sources said Israeli strikes continued in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.
U.S. mediation appeared to prevent a broader escalation Monday. Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire that would have Israel refrain from strikes on Beirut and Hezbollah-controlled suburbs of the capital, while Hezbollah would stop attacks on Israel.
Lebanon said it would seek to expand the ceasefire during talks with Israel in Washington on Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing domestic criticism over any agreement limiting further attacks on Beirut. Netanyahu is heading toward an election later this year that he is projected to lose.
The proposed U.S.-Iran agreement remains unresolved, with Tehran still reviewing the text and Washington seeking a deal that would stabilize the ceasefire, reopen a critical energy route and prevent the conflict from spreading further across the region.
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