US Vice President JD Vance stated on Friday that the United States and Iran have made significant progress toward a ceasefire extension deal, but President Donald Trump is not yet ready to approve it.

Earlier, US sources reported that Washington and Tehran had reached an agreement. However, Vance told reporters that the US is "not there yet" on the agreement with Iran, though the parties are close and the US is in a position to substantially set back Tehran's nuclear program.

According to Vance, there are a couple of sticking points in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran concerning its stockpile of enriched uranium and the question of further enrichment. "It's hard to say exactly when or if the president is going to sign the MOU. We're going back and forth on a couple of language points," he said.

Vance could not guarantee that a deal would be reached but expressed optimism: "Hopefully, we'll continue to make progress and the president will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that's still TBD."

The US military denied reports that a US aircraft was shot down near the Iranian city of Bushehr. "No US aircraft were shot down. All US air assets are accounted for," US Central Command said.

According to unnamed sources, US and Iranian negotiators have agreed to extend the current ceasefire for another 60 days. The deal would restart nuclear talks and allow free passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the agreement still awaits approval from the US president and Iran's supreme leader.

Source: www.dw.com