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.
The development came after Washington and Tehran accused each other of violating the truce, underscoring the volatility of talks three months after the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The US sources confirmed reporting by Axios that the two sides had agreed on a memorandum of understanding to prolong the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Under the proposed deal, 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, Axios reported.
But Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to Tehran's negotiators, said the text had not been finalized and that Pakistan would be informed if a deal was reached.
Iranian sources cited by local media said any deal would be complete only when announced by Tehran, not unilaterally by Trump.
Late on Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Trump was not yet ready to approve it, even though negotiations had "made a lot of progress."
"We're going back and forth on a couple of language points," he added.
US strikes on the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas prompted Iran to target "the American airbase that served as the source of the attack," state broadcaster IRIB reported, citing the Revolutionary Guards.
The Guards did not specify the location of the base, but Kuwait, which hosts US troops, said its air defenses responded to incoming fire.
Kuwait's foreign ministry condemned "the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the State of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation."
US Central Command called the attack an "egregious ceasefire violation."
Iranian forces had fired at four ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz without authorization, IRIB reported Thursday. Iran has blockaded the waterway since the war began.
US forces said they had intercepted five attack drones in and around the strait, and prevented the launch of a sixth near Bandar Abbas.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the US strikes truce "violations".
A US official told AFP the actions were "measured" and "intended to preserve the ceasefire".
Iran's Guards threatened a "firm response" to any renewed attacks.
- Strait standoff -
Before Thursday's strikes, Amir, a 27-year-old software developer in Tehran, said fears of renewed fighting were constant.
"I feel like nothing is certain yet," he said. "The daily question is: Will there be missile strikes tonight?"
A key focus of the proposed deal is restoring full traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of which has curbed the vast flows of oil and gas that normally pass through it.
Oil prices bounced higher Thursday after reports of the strikes, reversing much of Wednesday's deal-driven fall.
Markets remained choppy as traders balanced hopes of a ceasefire extension against the risk of renewed fighting. Brent crude slipped after earlier jumping around 2.5 percent, while Wall Street closed higher even as European and Asian markets mostly fell.
The war's economic toll has become harder to ignore, with analysts warning that prolonged disruption in Hormuz could keep energy prices high and make inflation harder to contain.
Qatar's emir also spoke with Trump by phone about efforts to reduce escalation, after Doha hosted senior Iranian officials this week.
- Lebanon escalation -
In Lebanon, a separate ceasefire has done little to stop the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Iran has insisted any agreement to end the war must apply to Lebanon.
Israel's military said Thursday it had conducted a precise strike in the Beirut area, while Lebanon's military said the attack hit an apartment south of the capital.
AFPTV footage showed smoke rising from the area on the edge of Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
The escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday, and for US-brokered talks early next week -- the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted.
Lebanon's health ministry said the Beirut-area strike killed three people, including a woman, her baby daughter and a Syrian child, and wounded 15.
It said Israeli attacks had killed 3,324 people, up 55 from the previous day, when Israel declared most of south Lebanon "combat zones" and told residents to leave.
The Israeli military said a soldier was killed Wednesday by a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border, bringing its military death toll to 23 troops, along with one civilian contractor.
