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Iran live updates: Negotiators believe they have draft deal, leaders haven't approved

American and Iranian negotiators believe they have arrived at a draft agreement.

Last Updated: May 28, 2026, 3:50 PM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.

Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."

3 hours and 46 minutes ago

Negotiators believe they have draft deal, but leaders haven't signed off

American and Iranian negotiators believe they have arrived at a draft agreement to formally extend the ceasefire and gradually open the Strait of Hormuz that can win the support of both countries, but President Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei have not yet given their final stamps approval -- meaning there is no deal at this point, according to two U.S. officials and another source with knowledge of the negotiations.

Both Trump and Iranian leadership have rejected deals in the late stages of negotiations before. The U.S. officials also say the Trump administration is still concerned about the fractured Iranian regime’s ability to coalesce behind any agreement, but that high-level Iranian officials have indicated the regime can accept the terms that are currently on the table.

President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, May 27, 2026 in Washington.
Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. sources also confirmed that U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached a deal, but it still needs Trump’s final approval, which was first reported by Axios.

The U.S. officials confirm that the president has been briefed on the draft memorandum of understanding, and say it would see the Strait of Hormuz fully opened over the course of 60 days -- with Iran loosening its grip on the waterway and the U.S. pulling back its naval blockade in synchronized steps until the strait returns to its pre-war status quo.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

10:04 AM EDT

Bessent says US Treasury continues to target Iranian regime

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. continues to target the Iranian regime, saying its troops are not getting paid, the police are not reporting for work and Kharg Island is shut down.

"The Iranian economy and currency are in free fall. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) is a joke, and today Treasury has sanctioned it. We have warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or hiding them as aid payments," Bessent said in a post on X Thursday.

"Forming a Wall of Steel, the U.S. Naval Blockade has ensured a record low amount of Iranian crude on the water. We will also be shutting down both Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales. Only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral," he said.

8:11 AM EDT

IDF claims strikes on 135 alleged Hezbollah targets in 24 hours

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that it struck more than 135 alleged Hezbollah targets across Lebanon over the previous 24 hours.

The targeted areas included Tyre and other parts of southern Lebanon as well as the Beqaa Valley in the east, according to the IDF. The IDF also confirmed a new strike in Beirut on Thursday.

Overnight, the IDF issued more forced evacuation warnings to residents of Lebanon, specifically the city of Tyre and Zaqqoq Al-Mufdi in the south of the country.

People look at damage from an Israeli strike in Tyre, southern Lebanon, on May 28, 2026.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News that the target in Thursday's strike on Beirut was a senior Hezbollah missile unit commander.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

7:37 AM EDT

Israel confirms new strike in Beirut

The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Thursday that it carried out a strike on Lebanon's capital Beirut, though it did not immediately specify what the target was.

Local media reported an explosion in the Choueifat area in the south of the city.

Rescue workers enter a building following an Israeli air strike in the Choueifat area, south of Beirut on the outskirts of the capital's southern suburbs, on May 28, 2026.
Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News that the target in Thursday's strike on Beirut was a senior Hezbollah missile unit commander.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

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