US Strikes Test Iran Ceasefire As Trump Weighs 60-Day Deal Extension

US and Iranian negotiators edged toward a deal to extend their fragile ceasefire for 60 days, but the potential breakthrough was still hanging on President Donald Trump’s approval, US sources told AFP on Thursday.

“US-Iran truce deal awaits Trump as strikes test ceasefire US and Iranian negotiators edged toward a deal to extend their fragile ceasefire for 60 days, but the potential breakthrough was still hanging on President Donald Trump's approval, US sources told AFP on Thursday”

Al-Monitor

Under the proposed deal described by Axios, shipping through Hormuz would be unrestricted, with no tolls or harassment, Iran would remove all mines within 30 days, and the United States would lift its naval blockade if commercial traffic resumes.

Al-Monitor

The truce was tested by US strikes on the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said prompted Iran to target "the American airbase that served as the source of the attack," citing the Revolutionary Guards.

Kuwait, which hosts US troops, said its air defences responded to incoming fire and its foreign ministry condemned "the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the State of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation."

The Washington Post said the United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement to end their months-long war, with senior officials on both sides saying Thursday that it came with the major caveat that President Donald Trump and his counterparts in Tehran were reviewing it.

NewsRadio 1370 AM & 92.9 FM WSPD reported that President Donald Trump told his Cabinet on Wednesday that the U.S. would not accept any deal that did not meet its terms, warning, "if a deal isn't reached with Iran then the U.S. will have to 'finish the job.'"

NewsRadio 1370 AM & 92.9 FM WSPD

NewsRadio 1370 AM & 92.9 FM WSPD also said Trump reiterated that "no one is going to control" the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway critical to global oil and gas supplies.

The same report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated talks could take "a few more days," while CENTCOM accused Iran of violating the ongoing ceasefire agreement by launching a ballistic missile at Kuwait late Wednesday.

NewsRadio 1370 AM & 92.9 FM WSPD said CENTCOM accused Iran of violating the ongoing ceasefire agreement by launching a ballistic missile at Kuwait late Wednesday, and it said the missile was intercepted by Kuwaiti defense forces and caused no damage or casualties.

“Democracy Dies in Darkness By Dan Lamothe and Gerry Shih The United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement to end their months-long war in the Middle East, senior officials on both sides said Thursday, but it comes with the major caveat that President Donald Trump and his counterparts in Tehran are reviewing it”

The Washington Post

The report said the attack came just hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, all of which were intercepted by the U.S. military, and CENTCOM called the missile launch an "egregious ceasefire violation."

It added that the U.S. strikes earlier on Wednesday targeted a military site in southern Iran used to launch drones and threatened civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, while NBC News reported Iran claimed its missile attack was retaliation for those U.S. strikes.

Al-Monitor said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has curbed vast flows of oil and gas and that oil prices bounced higher Thursday after reports of the strikes, reversing much of Wednesday's deal-driven fall, as markets balanced hopes of a ceasefire extension against the risk of renewed fighting.