US President Donald Trump has said a preliminary deal to end the war with Iran has already been signed and suggested that details of the agreement are set to be published “pretty soon”.
“I am very happy to say it’s signed, the deal is all signed,” he said during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit on Monday.
Senior US officials also began giving some details about the contents of the deal, briefing that the Strait of Hormuz would re-open on Friday – the same day the deal is formally inked in Geneva.
Technical talks on Iran’s nuclear programme are expected to begin this week, they said, while any sanctions relief or release of assets will depend on Iran meeting commitments under the deal.
Vice-President JD Vance told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran was “about a page and a half” and was a very general document.
Vance added that a lot of the details would be worked out during future negotiations.
“On a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase, but what the MOU does is set up a framework whereby the Iranians get the benefits of the bargain by meeting their obligations under the bargain,” he said.
Vice-President JD Vance told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran was “about a page and a half” and was a very general document.
Vance added that a lot of the details would be worked out during future negotiations.
“On a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase, but what the MOU does is set up a framework whereby the Iranians get the benefits of the bargain by meeting their obligations under the bargain,” he said.
The US officials said the agreement had been signed electronically by Trump, Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
They also suggested more details of the pact could be released by Wednesday – although Trump said the full text of the agreement would be released “pretty soon” after Friday’s ceremony.
“It’s a very powerful document, and I want it to be released. So probably pretty soon,” the president said.
The deal will extend a ceasefire for another 60 days, during which the sides will negotiate details of a final agreement.
Announcing the breakthrough on Sunday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose nation had been mediating, said it included “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
The US officials said that while Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire framework, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory was not a condition of the deal. Israel would retain the right to self defence, they added.
Speaking on Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would remain in security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza “as long as necessary”, and retain the freedom to act against attacks.
He also told a news conference Iran would not be allowed to obtain 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 had fired missiles and drones at Israeli forces in return.
Trump on Sunday said he had ordered the immediate removal of a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and added that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened when the initial agreement was signed.
Taking to social media on Monday, he claimed that “ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz”.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the end of military operations in a phone call on Iranian state TV, which portrayed the framework deal as a victory for Iran.
Gharibabadi said that Qatari mediators held “nearly 14 to 15 hours of lengthy talks” in Tehran to reach the initial agreement.
Iran’s top military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said that Iranians, together with the country’s armed forces and Tehran’s proxies and allies in the region, had shown the US and Israel that they had “no option but to accept defeat and surrender”.
But Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran still held “deep mistrust” of the US and the agreement was “merely a step towards reducing tensions”.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that he looked forward to the understandings translating into “practical steps that will put a definitive end to the cycle of violence”.
Key past sticking points have included Iran’s nuclear enrichment and Western insistence that the country not possess a nuclear weapon, and Iran’s desire for comprehensive sanctions relief and access to tens of billions of dollars in frozen oil revenues.
In a congratulatory joint statement, the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy said Iran “must never acquire a nuclear weapon” and that they were “prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme”.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the announcement “a hugely important step forward in ending the war, ensuring regional stability and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz”.
Source: BBC
–Agencies
