Washington — The United States and Iran have agreed to extend their ceasefire for 60 days, CNN reported Thursday, citing officials familiar with the negotiations, as a fresh escalation tested the fragile truce on the ground in the Middle East.
The memorandum of understanding would remove constraints on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, end a U.S. naval blockade and open a 60-day negotiating window focused on Iran’s nuclear programme, including discussions over Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. President Donald Trump has yet to formally approve the agreement, his administration said.
The development came as U.S. Central Command announced that Kuwait had intercepted missiles launched by Iran late Wednesday, describing the attack as an “egregious ceasefire violation.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later claimed responsibility for striking “the American airbase that served as the source of the attack.” Pentagon officials confirmed the strike and said U.S. personnel were injured; the extent of injuries was not immediately disclosed.
Meanwhile, Israel intensified its military operations across Lebanon, carrying out airstrikes in Sidon, Beirut and the ancient port city of Tyre. At least 24 Israeli troops have been killed since infighting erupted on March 3 — three days after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Hezbollah, meanwhile, launched a coordinated series of drone attacks against military targets in northern Israel near the Lebanese border, the group said in a statement.
Iran’s Parliament’s National Security Commission head, Ebrahim Azizi, said Tehran considers itself “the victor on the ground” and intends to dictate terms of any future agreement. “Cash for cash, credit for credit, nothing for nothing,” Azizi said, adding that negotiations would apply only to issues formally under discussion “and not to Trump’s fantasies.”
One of the final sticking points in the broader peace deal is the phased unfreezing of funds held by Qatar and intended for humanitarian purposes, according to the New York Post. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Washington on Thursday, thanking him for his country’s ongoing mediation efforts with Iran.
