U.S.

U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension to be considered by Trump, American officials say

Not clear if extension would break economically damaging logjam in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran targets U.S. base in Kuwait with drones, missiles

The United States and Iran have reached an outline agreement to extend their ceasefire pending the approval of President Donald Trump, Axios reported on Thursday, after Iran ‌targeted a U.S. airbase in Kuwait in the wake of U.S. strikes on what Washington said was an Iranian drone operation.

According to the report by Axios, the two sides agreed on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the truce and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program but the plan still needed Trump's approval.

CBC News has confirmed with U.S. officials the substance of the Axios report.

Trump has repeatedly said the end of the war is close — five days ago he said a deal was "largely negotiated" — ​but then veered two days later, attempting to pressure Arab and Muslim-majority countries in the region to normalize relations with Israel to help bring peace to the region.

Speaking to the media at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump said he was not yet satisfied by the negotiations and that the U.S. was not discussing easing of Iranian sanctions, one of Tehran's demands.

Ongoing sanctions, the dismantling of Iran's nuclear capacity and the blockage of the Strait of ⁠Hormuz, which handled one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas traffic before the war, are the major sticking points in talks to end the three-month conflict.

The waterway ⁠is covered ⁠by international law that guarantees foreign vessels the right to pass ​through.

Kuwait condemns strikes in territory

Since Monday, the two sides have exchanged periodic strikes. Iran targeted a U.S. airbase on Thursday after the U.S. military struck one of its drone operations near the Strait of Hormuz.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted the base in response to what it described as an early morning U.S. attack near Bandar Abbas airport, Tasnim news agency reported.

The IRGC did not identify the base.

But Kuwait — which hosts ⁠a large U.S. base — said Thursday it was responding to Iranian ⁠missile and drone attacks, which its Foreign Ministry condemned as a serious ‌escalation and blatant ⁠violation of its sovereignty and security. The ‌ministry demanded that Iran immediately ​and unconditionally ⁠halt ⁠the ⁠attacks, ⁠saying ​it held Tehran ​fully responsible.

U.S. forces intercepted ‌five one-way attack ​drones that were ​launched by Iran, ​and ⁠prevented ⁠a ‌sixth drone launch from an ⁠Iranian ground control ‌site in Bandar Abbas, U.S. ​Central ⁠Command (CENTCOM) ⁠said ⁠in ⁠an X ​post on Thursday.

The war has killed thousands and sent global energy prices sharply higher since it began on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Israel, which has been ‌fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, also reported sounding sirens regarding hostile aircraft activity in northern Israel. The Israel military said it had carried ​out a Thursday strike ​in Lebanon's capital ​Beirut.

Trump on Wednesday dismissed an Iranian state TV report that it had obtained an unofficial draft of an agreement to restore commercial shipping through the strait to prewar levels within a month, with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic.

Trump ‌said no single country would have control over the waterway, and appeared to threaten Oman, a country with which the U.S. has decades-long military and economic ties.

"It's international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up," he said. "They understand that, they'll be fine."

Oman has not said anything about the idea of joint control of the strait with Iran, with which it says it has discussed freedom of navigation.

The White House and Oman's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tehran condemned the U.S. attack on Bandar ​Abbas, and also expressed solidarity with Oman.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department added the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the Iranian body set up to manage passage through the strait, to a list of sanctioned people and entities seen as posing threats ​to U.S. national security.

Iran war is a 'lose-lose,' says international relations expert

Iranian state media on Thursday reported that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei sent a letter to parliament, asserting that Iran had emerged strengthened by the war and urged legislators to preserve national unity, repair damage and address hardship, inflation and corruption.

A report on Iranian state TV the previous day said any deal to restore shipping would also have the U.S. withdraw military forces from the immediate vicinity, and that the issue of U.S. troops in the region needed further discussion. The White House dismissed the report as a "complete fabrication." Tehran did not comment.

The Iranian TV report did not mention Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S. wants disbanded.

Iranian sources have said talks on the nuclear issue will come in a second round of negotiations — something that may not be acceptable to some of Trump's Republican and MAGA supporters. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

With files from The Associated Press