Trump Weighs 'Final Determination' on Deal to Extend Iran Ceasefire

President Trump said he had entered the White House Situation Room to make a final determination on a proposed agreement with Iran. He met aides for about two hours before putting off the decision, according to a senior administration official.

The tentative agreement would extend the existing ceasefire by 60 days in the three-month-old war and open a new round of talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program. A central United States demand, reported by the Financial Times, is a guarantee of unrestricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which much of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes.

The two sides describe the state of negotiations differently. Washington has signaled that a deal is close, while Tehran, according to Indian reporting, called the president's public claims a mixture of truth and falsehood. The gap matters for markets because any breakdown that threatens shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would push energy prices higher and complicate central banks' efforts to control inflation. Crude oil and the assets tied to it, including gold and silver, moved with each new signal from the White House through the day.