* Trump: The agreement includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
* Memorandum of understanding announced despite an Israeli attack in Lebanon.
* Iran’s nuclear program will be addressed in subsequent negotiations.
* Oil prices fall by more than 4% while stock markets rise.
U.S. and Iranian officials said they have reached a framework agreement to end the conflict between the two countries, lift the U.S. blockade imposed on Iran, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The preliminary agreement has led to a decline in oil prices while leaving the future of Iran’s nuclear program to be determined in later negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at 5:30 p.m. local time in Washington on Sunday (21:30 GMT): “The agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete.”
His announcement came shortly after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been acting as a mediator, also declared that an agreement had been reached.
The memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday. The detailed provisions of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.
Sharif stated in a post on X that the agreement provides for the “immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
Lebanon has been one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations, with Israel and Hezbollah disregarding calls from Trump and others to halt their exchanges of attacks in recent weeks.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretariat said in a statement that military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently beginning Monday night.
No official comment had yet been issued by Israel, which maintains that it is not a party to the U.S.-Iran talks.
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz
Trump stated that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively closed for months, would reopen on Friday. He also said he had ordered an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
“Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump wrote.
Oil prices fell following news of the agreement. Brent crude futures dropped by 4% in early Monday trading, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell by more than 4.6%.
Matthew Miller, who served as State Department spokesperson during the administration of former President Joe Biden, said Trump had made significant concessions to Iran in order to restore conditions that existed before the war.
“We have no guarantees that the nuclear issue will ever be resolved,” Miller said, adding that Iran had demonstrated its ability to hold the global economy hostage and obtain concessions from the United States.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said a broader agreement, including sanctions relief, would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period.
Sources previously told Reuters that Iran’s nuclear program would also be discussed during those subsequent negotiations.
Thousands of people, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, have been killed since U.S. and Israeli forces launched their first attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran responded by striking Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases and by effectively imposing a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, causing global energy prices to surge.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
The conflict has become a domestic political burden for Trump and Republican lawmakers, with opinion polls indicating widespread public frustration over rising gasoline prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November. Trump has also faced pressure from Republicans who insist that Iran’s nuclear program must be completely dismantled.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham welcomed the agreement but said he would “closely monitor” future negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.
“Our law requires any nuclear agreement with Iran to be submitted to Congress for review and a vote,” Graham said. “Congratulations to everyone on getting us to this point.”
During his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama, which had provided sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions and international inspections of Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran responded by accelerating uranium enrichment, eventually accumulating more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to levels approaching weapons-grade purity.
The ultimate fate of that uranium stockpile is expected to be a central issue in upcoming negotiations.
“A Very Difficult Man”
The agreement was reached despite an Israeli strike in Lebanon on Sunday, which drew criticism from both Iran and Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly clashed with Trump over Washington’s demands that Israel scale back its military operations in Lebanon to facilitate an agreement with Tehran.
Israel has said it intends to retain operational freedom in Lebanon, while Tehran has insisted that a complete ceasefire there is a key condition.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Trump briefed Netanyahu by phone on Sunday regarding progress toward a peace agreement.
In an interview with The New York Times, Trump described Netanyahu as “a very difficult man” and said the Israeli leader should thank him for saving Israel from a nuclear-armed Iran.
The announcement was welcomed by leaders outside the Middle East who had been closely monitoring the conflict.
In a joint statement, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy said they were prepared to lift sanctions on Iran if Tehran takes “clear and verifiable steps” to limit its nuclear program.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated: “We are clear that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be restored without fees. Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon.”
Prior to the official announcement, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the draft agreement included the release of $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
The Trump administration had previously stated that frozen Iranian funds would not be released until Iran fulfilled specific conditions under a peace agreement.
A U.S. official also said that the agreement would ultimately result in the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and the destruction and removal of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The senior Iranian official, however, maintained that the draft agreement would allow Iran—whose government denies seeking nuclear weapons—to dilute enriched uranium within the country rather than transfer it abroad.
( Reuters)
