Trump says US-Iran deal is ‘all signed’, but details remain unclear

[EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France/DUBAI/JERUSALEM] US President Donald Trump said on Monday (Jun 15) a preliminary agreement to end the war in the Gulf has already been signed by the US and Iran, though details have yet to be made public.

“The deal’s all signed,” Trump said after he arrived in France for a summit of the G7 group of big economies, adding that Vice-President JD Vance would attend a formal signing ceremony in Geneva on Jun 19.

The agreement would reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and extend a ceasefire for 60 days, allowing negotiators to tackle difficult issues like the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. Oil prices fell to their lowest level since Mar 10, shortly after the conflict cut off one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

The deal is the most significant step yet to resolve the conflict, which has killed at least 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and upended global energy markets. But much about the agreement remains unknown, and whether its provisions differ from the April ceasefire was unclear.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was an “important step” toward stopping the fighting but noted a final agreement for a lasting truce “has yet to take shape.”

Vance told Fox News on Monday that Trump may decide to release the agreement with Teheran before Friday. Earlier, the vice-president said on CNN the signed memorandum was only about 1½ pages “and so it is a very general document”. He added that it included “a very significant sanctions relief package” for Iran.

The agreement, which was electronically signed by leaders in the U.S. and Iran, is expected to be signed in person on Friday.

US and Iranian officials say it could eventually deliver substantial economic benefits to Iran by lifting sanctions, unfreezing foreign assets, and setting up a US$300 billion reconstruction fund, paid for by neighbouring Gulf allies.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran would have to satisfy US demands never to build a nuclear weapon and cut off support for proxy militias like Hizbollah in order to get those benefits.

SEE ALSO

What the Iran-US peace deal means for businesses

Asia’s oil-thirsty economies cautiously welcome US-Iran deal

Strait of Hormuz reopening would offer relief for Asia, but economic scars will remain

Vance hopes to release text of agreement to halt war in Iran this week

‘Very low chance’ that US-Iran deal reverts energy flows to South-east Asia through Hormuz: Bloomberg Economics

Oil rebounds on concerns about US-Iran peace deal, restoration of supply

Wall Street rallies, Dow ends with record on US-Iran deal, oil price slide

More

Iran agreed to sharply curtail its nuclear programme in a deal signed in 2015 with the US and other countries. Trump withdrew the US from that accord during his first term as president. That agreement allowed Iran to regain billions of dollars in frozen assets, which Trump has frequently derided as sending “pallets of cash” to Iran.

But Trump appears to have achieved little of what he set out to do when he launched strikes on Iran with Israel on Feb 28. Iran’s theocratic government remains in place, while his demands that Teheran dismantle its ballistic missile programme and end support for regional militias like Hizbollah remain unmet.

The new agreement also does not resolve the fate of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which Trump says he wants destroyed or removed.

Iranian officials, who have always denied intending to build a nuclear weapon, say they have given up little by agreeing to resume the diplomatic discussions with Trump officials over the nuclear programme that were interrupted in February by Trump’s decision to launch the war.

While the latest agreement lifts Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, that only restores the prewar status quo and shippers say navigation will only restart once safety is assured.

Iran has suggested it will retain control with Oman over the strait. The US says the strait will be open toll-free for 60 days and said it would expect that provision to be part of a final agreement as well.

Netanyahu says he ‘stood firm’

The fighting between US ally Israel and the Iran-allied Hizbollah militia in Lebanon, which has uprooted 1.2 million people, also remains a sticking point.

Iran has said the deal requires a full cessation of hostilities there, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon and would retain the right to respond to Hizbollah attacks.

“Iran wanted us to withdraw from it, but I stood firm,” he said at a news conference, where he acknowledged that he and Trump have had their differences over the conflict. Israel has not directly participated in the peace talks with Iran.

A US official said Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, which it invaded in March after Hizbollah joined the war, was not a condition of the deal. Disagreement over whether Lebanon was included was also a point of contention in the April ceasefire agreement.

Security sources said fighting had tamped down after the agreement was announced but had not ceased entirely.

Lebanese state media reported that an Israeli drone struck a car in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit, killing the driver. Netanyahu said Israeli forces had killed four “militants.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi said Israeli attacks must stop immediately.

Privately, Israeli officials’ views of the deal have been negative. One senior official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the agreement was “terrible for Israel,” and that this assessment was shared throughout the government from Netanyahu on down. REUTERS