Iran-US Deal Tentative — Trump and Tehran Must Still Sign; “Concessions Through Missiles”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US-Iran deal is “in sight”; Vice President J.D. Vance said it is “still TBD” whether President Donald Trump will sign. Iran’s leadership has not signed off either. An unnamed Iranian official told reporters that concessions to the United States come “through missiles”, a hardline framing that complicates the path to an agreement. The proposed 60-day ceasefire extension would unlock the Strait of Hormuz with no tolls, lift the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, and start new nuclear-programme talks. Both sides exchanged limited strikes earlier this week.
The framework as drafted: 60-day ceasefire; Hormuz reopened with no tolls; Iran clears mines deployed in the strait; US lifts naval blockade; Iran can freely sell oil under sanctions waivers; nuclear talks begin during the 60 days; Iran negotiates disposal of its highly enriched uranium stockpile under IAEA supervision. The “concessions through missiles” line from the Iranian official sits alongside Trump’s Wednesday warning that he is “not satisfied” with terms and accuses Iran of trying to stall until the November US mid-term elections. Either side can blow the deal up. Brent crude finished the week down to $93.80 a barrel — its largest weekly fall in two months — on the rising probability of a signed deal. Treasury Secretary Bessent’s public “in sight” framing is the highest-level US-side endorsement of the framework to date.