PRECIOUS-Gold holds ground with spotlight on Fed meet, US-Iran deal details

* Warsh-led Fed expected to hold interest rates steady

* Any whiff of hawkishness may weigh on gold, analyst says

* Trump threatens to resume bombing campaign if Iran does not "behave" (Updates for US morning hours)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad

June 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited the U.S. central bank's first policy decision under new Chair Kevin Warsh, along with further details of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement for further direction.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,325.59 per ounce by 8:20 a.m. EDT (1220 GMT). U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $4,345.00.

The Federal Reserve's rate decision, policy statement and updated policymaker projections will be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Warsh, who replaced former Fed chief Jerome Powell last month, will hold a press conference half an hour later.

"U.S. rates are expected to remain unchanged, but the real focus will be on Kevin Warsh. Any whiff of hawkishness may weigh on gold which remains highly sensitive to interest rate expectations," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

"Looking at the charts, prices may push higher toward $4,350 if $4,300 proves reliable support. Weakness below $4,300 could trigger a selloff back toward the $4250-$4200 per ounce support area."

Spot gold touched a near six-month low last week as inflation fears stoked by the Iran conflict boosted expectations of U.S. rate hikes. While gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation, elevated interest rates tend to pressure bullion, as it offers no yield.

Prices rebounded after the U.S. and Iran agreed on a framework deal.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the agreement reached this week with Iran was not final, and that he could resume a bombing campaign if he did not like it.

"Gold and silver could hit a cyclical low between late 2026 and early 2027. In our baseline scenario, gold could trade at an average of around $4,000 per ounce by the end of the year, whilst silver could settle at around $60," Intesa Sanpaolo economist Daniela Corsini said in a note.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.5% to $69.84 per ounce. Platinum lost 0.9% to $1,787.15 and palladium fell 0.2% at $1,349.11. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak, Diti Pujara and Shailesh Kuber)