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US President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on May 21, 2026. <\/p>\n
Kent Nishimura | AFP | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Iran’s armed forces fired missiles at unidentified targets late Thursday local time, the state media outlet Fars reported.<\/p>\n
The latest military action in southern Iran came hours after the Pentagon said that Iran had launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait and deployed attack drones in and around the strait.<\/p>\n
Earlier Thursday, a White House official confirmed an Axios<\/a> report that the U.S. and Iran have “mostly agreed” to the terms of an agreement to temporarily end the three-month-old war.<\/p>\n But President Donald Trump<\/a> has yet to give final approval to the 60-day memorandum of understanding, which would extend an ongoing ceasefire and start nuclear negotiations, that official said.<\/p>\n Axios reported that American officials said Iran has signed off on that deal, but noted that Tehran has not confirmed that.<\/p>\n Major stock indexes<\/a> rose Thursday, following the reported progress toward a temporary deal that could lead to the end of the 3-month-old war.<\/p>\n Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was noncommittal when asked later Thursday if an agreement with Iran was indeed on the table.<\/p>\n “The teams have been going back and forth,” Bessent said at a White House press briefing.<\/p>\n Trump has “several red lines” for any agreement, either in the short- or long-term, Bessent said.<\/p>\n Those include a demand that Iran turn over its highly enriched uranium and abandon its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Bessent also said that the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> must be free and open, as it was before the war.<\/p>\n The apparent developments in diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran \u2014 and corresponding optimism from markets<\/a> \u2014 came in contrast to a slew of signs that tensions in the region are mounting.<\/p>\n The U.S. Treasury<\/a> on Wednesday said it sanctioned Iran<\/a>‘s “Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” the agency Tehran launched earlier this month as it works to exert control over transit through the strait.<\/p>\n