▲ This undated file photo, provided by Reuters, shows a cargo vessel near the Strait of Hormuz. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

US-Iran-deal

U.S., Iranian negotiators reach deal, await Trump's final approval: Axios

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) to extend their ceasefire and conduct negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but President Donald Trump has not yet given his final approval, a report said Thursday.

Axios, a U.S. news outlet, reported on the agreement, citing two U.S. officials and a regional source, as tensions flared anew with the Islamic Republic firing a ballistic missile toward Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for earlier U.S. strikes on targets in southern Iran.

As of Tuesday, the terms of the deal were mostly agreed to, but both sides still needed approval from their top leaders, Axios said, citing U.S. officials.

The officials claimed that Iranian negotiators had said that they had the necessary approvals and were prepared to sign the MOU.

Trump was briefed on the deal, but he did not immediately sign off on it, according to the report.

The MOU will stipulate that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be "unrestricted," Axios said, citing the U.S. officials. The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports will be lifted, but the lifting will proceed in proportion to the restoration of commercial traffic through the strait, it said.

The MOU will also include Iran's commitment not to seek a nuclear weapon, and will state that the first issues to be negotiated during the 60-day period will concern the disposal of Iran's highly enriched uranium and its enrichment program.

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