The United States and Iran are edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with a draft framework that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.
The emerging plan centres on a short-term memorandum rather than a comprehensive peace deal, underscoring deep divisions between the two sides and signalling that any agreement at this stage would be an interim step.
Hopes that even a partial deal could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have already moved markets, with global stocks approaching record highs on Thursday and oil prices nursing steep losses on bets that supply disruptions could ease.
Tehran and Washington have scaled back ambitions for a sweeping settlement as differences persist, particularly over Iran's nuclear programme — including the fate of its highly enriched uranium stockpiles and how long Tehran would halt nuclear work.
Instead, they are working toward a temporary arrangement aimed at preventing a return to conflict and stabilising shipping through the strait, the sources and officials said.
"Our priority is that they announce a permanent end to war and the rest of the issues could be thrashed out once they get back to direct talks," a senior Pakistani official involved in mediation between the two sides told Reuters.
The proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, according to the sources and officials.
A Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation said a one-page memorandum to formally end the conflict was close, though gaps remain between the sides.
TRUMP OPTIMISTIC, IRAN SCEPTICAL
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly played up the prospect of a breakthrough since the war began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, struck an optimistic tone.
"They want to make a deal… it's very possible," he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, adding later that “it’ll be over quickly.”
The proposal would formally end the conflict in which full-scale warfare was paused by a ceasefire announced on April 7. But it leaves unresolved key U.S. demands that Iran suspend its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the sources said.
Israel, which has also been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, said on Thursday it had killed a Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut a day earlier, the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire there was agreed last month.
Hezbollah triggered its latest conflict with Israel by opening fire in support of Iran on March 2. A halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon is another key Iranian demand in Tehran's negotiations with Washington, and Iranian officials signalled scepticism over the U.S. proposal to end the wider war.
