US and Iran Exchange Draft Deal Proposals as Israel Widens Lebanon Offensive; Oil and Dollar Advance
The US and Iran exchanged messages over the weekend seeking changes to a draft ceasefire agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though progress remained uncertain. Brent crude climbed to around $93 a barrel on June 1, and the dollar strengthened as Middle East tensions intensified after Israel expanded its ground assault in Lebanon, shattering a fragile truce. President Trump reiterated that any deal must prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and restore the strait as a free international waterway. Iranian state TV reported a draft granting Tehran exclusive authority over transiting vessels—a point the US is unlikely to accept—and a commitment to unfreeze $12 billion within 60 days. Former national security adviser John Bolton said Trump may accept an imperfect deal to ease domestic gasoline prices ahead of fall elections. Separately, an Iranian ballistic missile strike on a Kuwaiti air base injured several Americans and damaged two MQ-9 Reaper drones, a person familiar said.