EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France/DUBAI/JERUSALEM, June 16 — US President Donald Trump said early this morning that a preliminary agreement to end the war in West Asia had been signed by the US and Iran, although details have yet to be made public and both countries said a permanent truce remained to be negotiated.
The agreement would extend a fragile ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Negotiators would address difficult issues, including the future of Iran's nuclear programme, during the next phase of talks.
"The deal's all signed," Trump said after arriving in France for a summit of the G7 group of major economies. He added that Vice-President JD Vance would attend a formal signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday.
Oil prices fell to their lowest level since March 10 shortly after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, disrupted one-fifth of the world's oil trade.
The agreement represents the most significant step yet towards resolving the conflict, which has killed at least 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and upended global energy markets.
However, much about the agreement remains unknown, and it is unclear whether its provisions differ from those contained in the April ceasefire.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was an "important step" towards ending the fighting, but noted that a final agreement for a lasting truce "has yet to take shape".
Vance told CNN that the signed memorandum was only about one-and-a-half pages long and described it as "a very general document". Details would be released over the next two days, US officials said. Vance added that it included "a very significant sanctions relief package" for Iran.
US and Iranian officials said the agreement could eventually deliver substantial economic benefits to Iran through the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and the establishment of a US$300 billion (about RM1.2 trillion) reconstruction fund financed by neighbouring Gulf states that host US military bases.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran would have to satisfy US demands never to build a nuclear weapon and to cut off support for militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to receive those benefits.
Iran agreed to sharply curtail its nuclear programme under a 2015 agreement signed with the US and other countries. Trump withdrew the US from that accord during his first term as president. The deal enabled Iran to regain billions of dollars in frozen assets, which Trump has frequently criticised as sending "pallets of cash" to Iran.
Trump appears to have achieved little of what he said he intended when he launched strikes on Iran with Israel on February 28. Iran's theocratic government remains in place, while his demands that Iran dismantle its ballistic missile programme and end support for regional militias such as Hezbollah 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 consistently denied intending to build a nuclear weapon, said they had conceded little by agreeing to resume 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, it effectively restores the pre-war status quo, and shipping companies say traffic will only resume once safety is assured.
Iran has suggested it will retain control of the strait alongside Oman. The US said the strait would remain open toll-free for 60 days and expected that provision to form part of any final agreement.
Netanyahu says he 'stood firm'
The fighting between US ally Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, which has displaced 1.2 million people, remains a sticking point.
Iran has said the deal requires a full cessation of hostilities there, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon and retain the right to respond to Hezbollah 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 had differed over the conflict. Israel has not directly participated in the peace talks with Iran.
A US official said an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March after Hezbollah joined the war, was not a condition of the agreement. Disagreement over whether Lebanon was included was also a point of contention in the April ceasefire agreement.
Security sources said yesterday that fighting in Lebanon had subsided following the announcement of the agreement, although it 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 Araqchi said Israeli attacks must stop immediately.
Privately, Israeli officials have expressed negative views of the agreement. One senior official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that the deal was "terrible for Israel", adding that this assessment was shared throughout the government, from Netanyahu down.
