Live | US and Iran reach framework agreement subject to Trump's approval

U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a framework agreement to extend the 60-day ceasefire, but this still requires the approval of President Donald Trump, U.S. sources told AFP.

The sources confirmed information published by Axios, according to which the two sides had reached agreement on a memorandum of understanding to extend the truce and begin negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Thursday that the United States will block access by Iranian airlines to airports and refueling services, without specifying how it will apply this measure internationally.

In a post on X, Bessent said Washington will "be shutting down both Iranian airlines' access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales," without providing further details.

"Only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral," he warned.

The New York Stock Exchange opened Thursday with mixed movements and no clear trend, pressured by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, while investors assimilate a series of new economic data.

In early trading, the day after a triple record high, the Nasdaq (+0.06%) and S&P 500 (-0.01%) indexes were near-balanced. The industrial Dow Jones lost 0.44%.

The United States and the Iranian regime accused each other of violating a ceasefire in place on Thursday following an exchange of gunfire, three months after the start of the war in the Middle East with a wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic.

AFP reported that the latest exchange was the most serious since the ceasefire began in April, which has shaken ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the war and involved U.S. ally Kuwait, which accused Iran of a "dangerous escalation."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened a "firm response" on Thursday in the event of renewed attacks, after the United States carried out a strike on the country's southern territory.

"If this action is repeated, the U.S. military will face a firm response," the IRGC said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

An Iranian missile strike on Kuwait was a "flagrant violation of the ceasefire," the U.S. military said Thursday, amid a renewed offensive in the Middle East conflict.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it had attacked an American base in the region in retaliation for previous U.S. bombings against military targets on its territory:

"Following this morning's aggression by the invading U.S. military against a locality on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas airport using aerial shells, the U.S. airbase that served as the origin of the attack wasattacked at 4:50 a.m. local time," the IRGC said, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps did not provide details on the location of the base, although Kuwait's military said its air defenses were responding to an "enemy" attack on Thursday.

Oil broke the bearish path withstrong rises just after the latest attacks between the U.S. and Iran, which put peace talks and ceasefire at risk.

After the close of Asian stock markets, a barrel of North Sea Brent rose above $96 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate reached $90.32.

Iran is relying on FIFA to help in obtaining "multiple-entry" visas to the United States so that its national team players, who will have their base camp in Mexico, can play in the World Cup, Iranian Federation President Mehdi Taj announced Thursday.

"FIFA should guarantee the issuance of a multiple-entry visaso that the players can enter the United States and return to Mexico," Taj said in a video broadcast by local media.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned what it described as a violation of the ceasefire by the United States, following the attack on the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran "will take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty," and condemned Washington's "threatening rhetoric" against the Islamic republic and Oman.

Israel's military announced Thursday that one female soldier had been killed hit by an explosive drone launched by the Hezbollah group near the Lebanese border, bringing to 24 the number of deaths in its ranks since the beginning of March.

Sgt. Rotem Yanai, 20, "fell during a military operation in northern Israel," the military said in a brief statement.

So far, 24 Israelis have been killed, 23 soldiers and one civilian contractor, since the resumption of hostilities with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah group in early March.

Iranian forces shot at four ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, state broadcaster IRIB reported Thursday, the same day the United States carried out new strikes in the southern Islamic republic.

"Four vessels attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz and enter the Persian Gulf without coordinating with security forces," IRIB posted on the Telegram messaging platform, saying the incident took place at around 12:35 a.m. local time, but without giving details on the status of the vessels.

The United States Treasury announced sanctions Wednesday against Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Tehran's new agency that collects fees for traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"The Iranian military's latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement.