Henry Moore,
Chris GrahamAnd
Claire Keenan
Donald Trump may decide to release a preliminary deal to end the war with Iran before Friday, US Vice President JD Vance said, after the US president said the deal had already been signed.
Vance described The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran is “about a page and a half” and a “very general” document.
Senior U.S. officials also began to provide some details of the agreement, specifying that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on Friday – the same day the agreement was officially signed in Geneva.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed that a new round of negotiations aimed at reaching a final peace agreement with the United States would begin the same day in Switzerland.
It comes as Trump attends the G7 summit in France, which will host a special session on Iran on Tuesday attended by the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
During his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, Trump said, “I’m very happy to say it’s signed, the deal is completely signed,” referring to the preliminary deal.
U.S. officials said it was electronically signed by Trump, Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Technical negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program are expected to begin this week, the officials said, while any sanctions relief or release of assets will depend on Iran fulfilling commitments under the deal.
Vance told NBC News that nuclear inspectors would “absolutely” be allowed to return to Iran as part of the deal.
“One of the essential elements of the agreement is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the United States will help Iran destroy its highly enriched stockpiles – and this is something that is stated very clearly. »
While Trump had previously suggested that details of the deal would be released “fairly shortly” after Friday’s ceremony, Vance told Fox News that the US president could decide to release the agreement with Tehran before then.
Vance earlier told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) was a very general document, adding that many details would be worked out in future negotiations.
“On a number of issues, we are going to have to resolve this during the technical negotiation phase, but the memorandum of understanding establishes a framework in which the Iranians enjoy the benefits of the agreement by fulfilling their obligations under the agreement,” he said.
The document’s “first paragraph” states that Iran will commit to “regional peace and stability,” Vance said, adding that this would include ending funding to “terrorist organizations.”
“More importantly, they will have a verifiable commitment not to build nuclear weapons,” Vance said.
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G7 allies will be keen to discuss Iran with Trump, with the UK and France leading plans for a defensive mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said he didn’t think the United States would “need a lot of help” to ensure free passage for ships, but added that he didn’t think it was “a bad idea to have a ship or two” from other countries based in the strategic waterway.
The agreement will extend the ceasefire for another 60 days, during which the parties will negotiate the details of a final agreement.
Announcing the breakthrough on Sunday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country was mediating, said it included “an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
U.S. officials said that although Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory was not a condition of the agreement. Israel would retain the right to self-defense, they added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday evening that Israeli forces would remain in safe zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza “as long as necessary” and retain the freedom to act against attacks.
He also told a news conference that Iran would not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, with or without a deal.
Netanyahu was speaking after Lebanese media reported a deadly Israeli strike on a car in the south – the first since the peace deal was announced. Hezbollah said it fired missiles and drones at Israeli forces in return.
The Israeli military later confirmed that four people had been killed in strikes it said targeted terrorists.
Araghchi warned that Iran would now view any Israeli attack on Lebanon or any continued presence on Lebanese territory as a violation of the interim agreement with the United States.
“In our opinion, the two parties to this memorandum are the United States and Israel on the one hand, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other,” he said.
Trump said on Sunday that he had ordered the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and added that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened as soon as the initial agreement was signed.
He claimed on social media that “ships are starting to leave the Strait of Hormuz, many of them loaded with oil.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the end of military operations in a phone call to Iranian state television, which presented the framework agreement as a victory for Iran.
Gharibabadi said Qatari mediators held “nearly 14 to 15 hours of long discussions” in Tehran to reach an initial agreement.
Iran’s highest military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the Iranians, along with the country’s armed forces and Tehran’s proxies and allies in the region, had shown the United States and Israel that they had “no choice but to accept defeat and surrender.”
But Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran still had a “deep distrust” of the United States and that the deal was “only a step toward reducing tensions.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that he looked forward to the agreements being translated into “practical measures that will definitively end the cycle of violence.”
Major past sticking points include Iran’s nuclear enrichment and Western insistence that the country does not possess a nuclear weapon, as well as Iran’s desire for overall sanctions relief and access to tens of billions of dollars in frozen oil revenues.
