After nearly ten weeks of negotiations, the U.S. and Iran have finally reached an agreement to end the conflict. “The Deal with Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!” President Donald Trump announced Monday morning.
While the precise terms of the tentative agreement have not been made public, reports indicate that it would extend the current ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international transit. The so-called “memorandum of understanding” is expected to be signed between the U.S. and Iran on Friday in Switzerland. According to official Iranian sources, a final deal will be reached during a 60-day ceasefire.
“The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement early Monday to open the Strait of Hormuz and further extend a shaky ceasefire in the Iran war,” the Associated Press reported. “Details of the deal were not immediately released and Iran signaled implementation would not start until the signing, which key mediator Pakistan said would occur Friday in Switzerland.”
The U.S. and Iran are expected to sign a “memorandum of understanding” in Switzerland this Friday, with official Iranian sources stating that a final deal will be reached within the next 60 days. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) confirmed Tehran had agreed to the final wording of the memorandum of understanding with the US,” The Telegraph (UK) reported. “Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said a more expansive agreement would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire.”
Initial reports suggest that Iran will not be required to surrender its weapons-grade uranium, but will instead be trusted to dilute it under international monitoring — a system that has already failed miserably. “The sides have given themselves 60 days to reach a technical agreement on how to down-blend Iran’s highly enriched uranium and both freeze and monitor its nuclear program going forward,” Axios reported.
Iran, the biggest state sponsor of terrorism, will reportedly receive sanctions relief and access to frozen assets in return for its “cooperation” on the nuclear issue. “The U.S. side insists Iran is incentivized to reach a final agreement because sanctions relief and access to frozen funds depend on progress on the nuclear front,” the news website added.
Update: Reports on Monday afternoon indicate that the memorandum of understanding was digitally signed yesterday by President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Iranian regime representatives.
According to Iranian state media, the agreement allegedly unblocks billions in frozen assets in the short term and ends the Israeli military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon. “Iran’s state-affiliated Mehr News on Sunday published what it described as details of a 14-point draft memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington, provides for the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets during the 60-day talks,” the exiled Iranian news website Iran International reported. “According to Mehr, the draft begins with an immediate and permanent end to military operations across all fronts, including Lebanon, alongside a US commitment not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and to respect the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic.”
The first official Israeli response came from Defense Minister Israel Katz. Faced with the threat from Iranian proxy terrorist group, Israel will retain forward defense positions build along the border with Syria and Lebanon, he assured.
The Israeli military “will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza — without any time limit — in order to protect Israel’s borders and communities from jihadist elements,” Israeli Defense Minister said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly told President Trump that Israel retains the right to defend its troops and civilians against Hezbollah attacks. According to Israel’s Ynetnews, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel does not consider itself bound by the Lebanon clause in the emerging agreement with Iran, Israeli officials said, making clear that Jerusalem will not accept any arrangement that limits its freedom to act against Hezbollah.”
The current framework of the deal drew broad rejection across the Israeli political spectrum. “The US-Iran agreement announced Sunday night has sparked a wave of sharp criticism from both the Israeli opposition and coalition hardliners, with figures across the political spectrum condemning the deal as a blow to Israeli security interests while differing sharply on who bears responsibility,” Israel’s i24NEWS reported.
Iranian state media framed the outcome as a great victory for Tehran and terrorist proxies, claiming that the U.S. was “forced” to sign the deal.
“The United States was forced to sign a memorandum to end the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Resistance Front. Shehbaz Sharif announced the permanent and immediate end of the war on all fronts of the U.S. war against Iran and its allies,” the regime-run TV channel IRINN announced Monday morning.
Western leaders, largely opposed to the U.S. military intervention, welcomed the agreement. China, Iran’s key ally, also lauded the deal. “World leaders have welcomed news of a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping,” Germany’s state-run DW TV observed.
“Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. We stand ready to work with the U.S., Iran and the IAEA to this end,” Germany, France, Italy and the UK said in a joint statement. It is worth noting that most of these countries openly opposed the U.S. military operation, with Germany and the UK declaring that it was “not their war.”
The global oil price dropped, and the market rallied following news of the deal. “Oil prices have fallen and shares risen after the US and Iran said they had agreed a framework deal to end the war,” the BBC reported.
The British broadcaster continued:
Asian stock markets surged on Monday as investors welcomed the framework deal. Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index closed 5% higher, while the Kospi in South Korea ended up 5.2%.The region was hit particularly hard by higher energy prices as it is heavily reliant on the Middle East for its oil and LNG supplies.In Europe, both Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 indexes were up by about 1.7% and in London the FTSE 100 rose 0.6%.
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