Iran live updates: US waiting for Iran response to possible MoU, officials say
Iran live updates: US waiting for Iran response to possible MoU, officials say
DAVID BRENNAN, MEREDITH DELISO and NADINE EL-BAWABThu, May 7, 2026 at 8:08 PM UTC
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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."
Iran is reviewing the U.S.'s proposal that was passed along through Pakistan, Esmail Baghaei, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement Thursday. “The last conversations we had with our Pakistani counterpart, focused on our suggested proposal, the 14-item proposal that has been relayed to the Americans through Pakistan," Baghaei said in a statment. Adding, "As soon as we finalize, [our response] will be shared with the Pakistani mediator, and based on the result of these message exchanges, the next steps will be decided."
The Israel Defense Forces said in a Thursday statement that it had killed more than 220 Hezbollah fighters and commanders over the past few weeks.The IDF said 85 Hezbollah fighters were killed in the past week.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on May 7, 2026.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Othon Leyva
The Israel Defense Forces said in a Thursday statement that its Wednesday airstrike in southern Beirut -- the first on the capital since a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah last month -- killed Ahmed Ali Balout, the commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force commando unit.Balout, the IDF said, was "eliminated in a precise strike, in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut."
Mohamed Azakir/Reuters - PHOTO: Onlookers gather as rescuers work at the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on May 7, 2026.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Othon Leyva
The U.S. and Iran are negotiating over a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at breaking through the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz and setting a timeline for both sides to work out a more comprehensive nuclear deal.The one-page MoU currently on the table from the Trump administration would see Iran easing its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. gradually lifting its naval blockade of the country's ports over a 30-day period, according to officials familiar with the matter. Officials underscore that nothing has been formally agreed to at this point and that some issues -- including ones related to Iran's ongoing demands to charge a toll for transiting the strategic waterway -- still need to be resolved. Iranian and US negotiators have passed multiple draft versions of the MoU back and forth in recent days, and the administration is currently waiting for feedback from Iran on several points, they say. In its current form, the one-page MoU does contain terms related to Iran's nuclear program, but the expectation is that most of the specifics would be negotiated over the 30-day period. Officials have so far declined to describe the proposed MoU as a take-it-or-leave-it offer. -ABC News' Rachel Scott and Shannon K. Kingston
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President Donald Trump said that he would not set a deadline for Iran to make a deal, while speaking at the Oval Office on Wednesday.Asked directly if there was a deadline for Iran, Trump said there was “never a deadline.”“Never a deadline. It'll happen, it'll happen, but never a deadline,” Trump said.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters - PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 6, 2026.
Trump continued to express confidence that a deal with Iran was close. Asked what was different about this time compared to other times when a deal seemed close, Trump said that “a few days ago is a long time.”"They want to make a deal badly. And we'll see if we get there. If we get there, they can't have nuclear weapons,” Trump said.“Iran can not have a nuclear weapon, and they won't. And they've agreed to that, among other things,” Trump claimed.-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
Responding to Axios reporting that the U.S. and Iran are closing in on a one-page memo to end the war, an Iranian official said that Iran has "its finger on the trigger.""Axios' text is Americans' wish list until it becomes reality, Americans will not obtain through a failed war what they failed to gain in face-to-face negotiations, Iran has its finger on the trigger and is ready," Ebrahim Rezaei, a senior member of Iran's parliament, said in a post on X.Adding, "if they do not surrender and grant the necessary concessions, or if they or their devilish henchdog allies try to act mischievously, we will deliver a harsh and regret-inducing response."-ABC News' Desiree Adib
Israel launched strikes on Beirut Wednesday, targeting a Hezbollah commander, according to a joint release from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz. "The terrorists, led by Radwan, were responsible for firing at Israeli settlements and harming IDF soldiers. No terrorist has immunity - Israel's long arm will catch every enemy and murderer," Netanyahu and Katz said.
U.S. Central Command said that U.S. forces fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged tanker around 9 a.m. ET Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman.In a press release, CENTCOM said the empty tanker was attempting to sail to an Iranian port after "repeated warnings.""U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces observed M/T Hasna as it transited international waters enroute to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade," CENTCOM wrote in a press release Wednesday.
US Navy - PHOTO: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush sails in the Arabian Sea, May 3, 2026.
Officials said after the Hansa's crew failed to comply, forces fired "several rounds from the 20mm cannon gun of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet launched from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)."The shots hit the tanker's rudder, disabling its movement. "Hasna is no longer transiting to Iran," CENTCOM wrote in the release.This is not the first time U.S. forces have fired on tankers attempting to bypass the blockade."The U.S. blockade against ships attempting to enter or depart Iranian ports remains in full effect. CENTCOM forces continue to act deliberately and professionally to ensure compliance," CENTCOM said.-ABC News' Nathan Lee
President Donald Trump said he feels the U.S. is closing in on a deal with Iran, but cautioned that he’s “felt that way before with them," in an interview with PBS. This deal could include Iran exporting its highly enriched uranium to the U.S., according to Trump. Trump confirmed the deal would include a pledge from Iran to not operate underground facilities, though Trump followed up by saying they would be operating in "goodwill," making negotiations on the operations of nuclear facilities still unclear.
Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony for a proclamation to revive the Presidential Fitness Test Award, a competitive school-based fitness program, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, May 5, 2026.
"I think it's got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn't end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them," Trump reportedly told PBS. “It's getting very close. If they agree, it's over, and if they don't agree, we bomb.”He said sending special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to in-person talks is "unlikely."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei criticized negotiations with the U.S. in a new post on X."The concept of 'negotiations' requires, at the very least, a genuine attempt to engage in discussions with a view to resolving the dispute," Baqaei said. Adding, "It needs 'good faith', then, meaning that 'negotiations' is not 'disputation'; nor is it 'dictation', 'deception', 'extortion' or 'coercion.'"
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Source: “AOL Money”
