US and Iranian negotiators reach deal to re-open strait of Hormuz and extend ceasefire | BBC News

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Now, it's being reported tonight that US and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement to extend their ceasefire and begin negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Now, Donald Trump is still to approve any deal and may lead an exchange of fire between the two sides, which threatens the current ceasefire.

[00:00:18]Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted an American airbase in the region, and the US military has confirmed a ballistic missile was fired at Kuwait, which was intercepted. Iran said it was responding to American forces shooting down Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz and striking a military base in Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city in southern Iran.

[00:00:41]Both sides have condemned each other.

[00:00:44]Well, Sarah Smith is live at the White House for a night now. I mean, is there a sense of optimism that perhaps the ceasefire could be extended, Sarah?

[00:00:55]>> Yeah, despite those renewed hostilities, we do understand that the negotiators from America and Iran have reached an agreement that would extend the current ceasefire by 60 days and provide a framework for ongoing talks. But, want to caution a couple of things there.

[00:01:12]One, Donald Trump has not actually signed off on this framework yet. And also, this is very much not a final peace deal. Rather, it is an agreement that would form the basis for serious peace talks. What we understand would happen is that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, allowing international shipping to pass through there. So, that would return to the situation we were in before Donald Trump started the war in Iran. And Iran would agree not to pursue a nuclear weapon. Again, that was the situation before the war began at the end of February. The really big, important negotiations about what would happen with Iran's nuclear program, what will happen to the highly enriched uranium in that country, that will have to be talked about during the 60-day window. And I would also caution, we have been here before. It's not unusual to hear optimistic noises from the White House that a deal is imminent, that we're going to get a deal very, very soon, and then nothing comes of it. And the last time we saw Donald Trump, which was yesterday, he was at pains to stress that he does not feel under pressure to try and do a deal quickly, that he feels that he does have plenty of time to make sure that he gets the deal that he wants, not just the one that can be agreed soon.

[00:02:24]>> All right, Sarah Smith, our North America editor, live at the White House.

[00:02:29]Well, even as reports emerge of a possible deal with Iran in Lebanon, Israel has stepped up its strikes on what it describes as Hezbollah targets ahead of fresh talks due to take place in Washington tomorrow. Now, despite a truce between the two sides, Israel has launched air strikes across Lebanon, including in Nabatieh, Sidon, Tyre, and the capital Beirut, with the Lebanese authorities saying at least 11 people have been killed. Yesterday, Israel declared all areas south of the Zahrani River, including Tyre and Nabatieh, as a combat zone, and told residents to evacuate. John Sudworth has sent us this update from Beirut.

[00:03:10]The target of the strike on Beirut, Israeli sources say, was the head of a missile division aligned with Hezbollah.

[00:03:19]At the scene, while rescue teams worked, local residents told us that innocent people were caught up in the attack.

[00:03:26]This man says he rushed downstairs to find a baby outside.

[00:03:30]>> Small children, 3-month old, here on the here on the ground.

[00:03:37]>> blown out of the building by the blast.

[00:03:40]She was martyred, he adds.

[00:03:42]It's difficult to verify Israel's claim about its intended target, but amid the grief and anger in this community, there is strong support for Hezbollah.

[00:03:54]"We are Nasrallah's people." This woman says, referring to its former leader assassinated by Israel.

[00:04:04]Israel's main focus, though, is in the south.

[00:04:07]This was Tyre, a city of tens of thousands, given a warning of just 2 hours before this week's bombardment began.

[00:04:15]More than an eighth of Lebanon's total land area is now subject to a sweeping evacuation order.

[00:04:23]But nowhere is really safe. This is Sidon, well outside that zone, with more homes destroyed and another five deaths.

[00:04:34]"My nephew called me to say it's gone."

[00:04:36]The landlady of one of the apartments tells me, insisting she doesn't support Hezbollah or Israel.

[00:04:48]Strikes on the capital city, though, have become far less frequent, [music] and some see the influence of America.

[00:04:55]There are unconfirmed reports that the White House is putting pressure on Israel to limit its military action here in Beirut. But what's happened here shows that the Israeli Prime Minister is insisting on the right to carry out what he calls limited strikes, precision strikes, when he thinks they're necessary.

[00:05:14]Iran has said any peace agreement with the US must include Lebanon.

[00:05:19]But for the Lebanese people, peace seems like a very distant prospect. John Sudworth, BBC News, Beirut.

[00:05:28]>> And the Israeli military says it's working on a response to the growing threat of fiber-optic drones from Hezbollah, which are more difficult to detect than conventional drones. The Israeli Defense Force says it's come under attack from around 400 of the small, low-flying devices since Israel's cease-fire with Lebanon was agreed last month. Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in those attacks, but the technology has been used in Ukraine and there's criticism Israel's forces haven't learned lessons from that conflict. Well, Lucy Williamson has more now from the Israeli border town of Shamira.

[00:06:04]>> On the road to Israel's northern border, Hezbollah's latest weapon struck again.

[00:06:10]Another soldier killed and two wounded by fiber optic drones near the border town of Shomera.

[00:06:18]Inside Shomera, the bus stop is scarred from another strike this week. Fiber optic wires from previous attacks are trailed along the roads.

[00:06:31]>> The problem is you don't feel them coming. You're sitting and suddenly it arrives. And if you run away, it follows you.

[00:06:40]>> Within minutes, an alert signals another drone from Lebanon.

[00:06:45]Here, the warnings and the weapons come seconds apart.

[00:06:50]>> Several Hezbollah drone attacks here have been happening all the time and all Israel's firepower, its occupation of Lebanon, can't stop them.

[00:07:00]>> We scan the sky. No sign of the drone.

[00:07:03]Israel's army told us it lost contact with it.

[00:07:07]The day before, security teams here were filmed shooting down a drone right outside the house where Amihai, a peach farmer, lives with his wife and seven children.

[00:07:19]>> It came and we rushed into the house.

[00:07:22]The soldiers were here outside shot at it and managed to knock it out of the air and saved us.

[00:07:29]>> The missiles stopped because of the ceasefire and drones started coming instead.

[00:07:35]>> Israeli forces inside Lebanon are key targets for Hezbollah's drones and footage of the attacks a key part of its media war.

[00:07:44]Israel's army has countered with videos of its own forces striking drone operators.

[00:07:50]But it's under fire itself for not learning from Ukraine's drone experience and not stopping the attacks.

[00:07:59]At the border today, Israel's army spokesman said the best minds were working on finding responses to the new threat.

[00:08:06]They include specialist ammunition and sensors linked directly to soldiers' guns.

[00:08:13]In Shomera, these are dismissed as temporary fixes. Hezbollah, they say, is backed by Iran's regime.

[00:08:20]And the solution is to finish them both.

[00:08:23]Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Shomera.