More on the strait of Hormuz: Iran is saying it will “not return to pre war conditions”. that Tehran will charge ships to transit the waterway after a 60-day toll-free period stipulated in the memorandum of understanding.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei reportedly said the issue of the strait would be the responsibility of Iran. Oman.
Chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state television that the “strait of Hormuz will not return to prewar conditions”. adding:
double quotation mark Iran has the right to sovereignty over the strait of Hormuz. of course we will receive a fee for services.
Donald Trump has previously said he would not accept tolls being imposed for crossing the vital energy route, through which about a fifth of global oil. LNG supplies usually travel. But in defending the US deal with Tehran, he said that if it was not struck the strait would “never have been opened”. a “worldwide depression” would result.
The US-Iran agreement calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. would waive sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to language released by both countries.
The deal’s text hasn’t yet been formally released but a draft read by US officials includes language that Iran agrees not to develop or procure nuclear weapons. requires that Iran’s highly enriched uranium be downgraded on site as a minimum, the Associated Press is reporting.
In return, the US will move to waive – but not eliminate – some wide-ranging sanctions against Iran.
Much of the agreement would restore the status quo before the war, including ending hostilities, reopening the strait of Hormuz. restarting US-Iran talks over Tehran’s nuclear program – and the deal appears to offer Iran several benefits up front while extracting little in return.
The US agreement to immediately allow Iran to sell its oil freely. the offer to eventually lift all sanctions represent major concessions that go beyond the terms of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the report says. Donald Trump withdrew the US from that Obama-era pact in his first term, declaring it the “worst deal ever”.
Iran is saying talks with the US set for Friday in Switzerland are now not confirmed.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said early on Thursday, cited by Reuters:
double quotation mark The Friday meeting was confirmed until a few hours ago, but when it was decided that the presidents of the two sides [Iran. the US] would sign the agreement, it was decided to pause consideration of the Friday meeting for now.
Earlier it was expected. the US-Iran memorandum of understanding would be officially signed at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday. But reports quoting both sides say presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian have now signed the MoU.
As the adage goes: no plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy.
Donald Trump entered the war with Iran with maximalist goals: eliminating the country’s nuclear programme, destroying its ballistic missile programme. ending its support for regional military groups including Hezbollah and Hamas.
He exits it with Iran’s word not to build a bomb. to hold further nuclear discussions, no mention in writing of the ballistic missile programme and with Hezbollah celebrating a “victory” as the memorandum of understanding (MOU) instituted a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has seized a swath of the country as a “buffer zone”.
Iran’s key asset ended up being the strait of Hormuz. the waterway that almost every previous simulation of the war predicated would be quickly cut off by Iran. To reopen the strait. the administration was forced to fold on its broader goals or face what Trump called a “worldwide depression”.
It has been clear for days that the Trump administration was skittish about putting out the text of its MOU. It was only finally read out by a senior administration official on a briefing call on Wednesday,. the White House still has not published a copy online.
The reasoning is clear: many in Trump’s own party will hate this deal. The outgoing US senator Bill Cassidy, of Maryland, called it the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.
The full analysis is here:
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson is also being quoted as saying that Iran must be able to sell its oil – with no problems around transport. insurance – and must receive the revenues from its oil sales.
More on the strait of Hormuz: Iran is saying it will “not return to pre war conditions”. that Tehran will charge ships to transit the waterway after a 60-day toll-free period stipulated in the memorandum of understanding.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei reportedly said the issue of the strait would be the responsibility of Iran. Oman.
Chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state television that the “strait of Hormuz will not return to prewar conditions”. adding:
double quotation mark Iran has the right to sovereignty over the strait of Hormuz. of course we will receive a fee for services.
Donald Trump has previously said he would not accept tolls being imposed for crossing the vital energy route, through which about a fifth of global oil. LNG supplies usually travel. But in defending the US deal with Tehran, he said that if it was not struck the strait would “never have been opened”. a “worldwide depression” would result.
Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war with Iran. a White House official told Reuters. The text of the agreement has been officially signed by the presidents of both sides. Iran state media reported, citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
The deal for an immediate and permanent halt to military operations on all fronts, includes Lebanon. The deal commits both sides. their allies to cease hostilities and refrain from the threat or use of force against each other – though Israel retains the right to strike back if Hezbollah attacks.
Israel has not been shown the final text of the MOU. according to its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, though senior US officials said he had been briefed consistently on its substance.
Iran will not receive broad sanctions relief simply by signing. Senior officials were emphatic on a press call that sanctions removal is directly tied to nuclear performance. Iran has committed to destroying its enriched uranium stockpile at minimum through down-blending under IAEA supervision – a concession officials called “a major. major win”.
The strait of Hormuz is set to reopen for toll-free commercial passage within 30 days. Iran had already stopped firing on vessels in the strait the day before the signing call – the first such pause in 100 days of conflict. One immediate upside for Tehran does kick in upon signing: a US treasury waiver on Iranian crude oil exports. Iran said it will charge ships crossing strait of Hormuz after 60 days, AFP reported.
Both sides have 60 days to reach a final deal to be endorsed by a binding UN security council resolution. Senior US officials said the administration would know within “days or weeks, not months” if Iran was stalling –. was prepared to tighten economic pressure significantly if talks broke down.
Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war with Iran. a White House official told Reuters.
The text of the agreement has been officially signed by the presidents of both sides. Iran state media reported, citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
The US. Iran have signed the MOU for ending war electronically on Wednesday and it is now in effect, according to website Axios.
Iran said it will charge ships crossing the strait of Hormuz after 60 days, AFP reported.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf,, Iran’s top negotiator, said in an interview aired on state television: “Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. of course we will receive a fee for services.”
The most important issue in imminent nuclear talks between Iran. the United States is how Iran’s nuclear programme will be policed, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said.
“The detail will matter,” Prince Faisal said of the talks. speaking at a conference in Vienna hosted by Brussels-based thinktank the European Council on Foreign Relations. He declined to comment on the detail of the MOU because he had not yet seen the final version.
US ally. Iranian rival Saudi Arabia has long kept a close eye on Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran says is entirely peaceful.
“It will be most important to see the verification mechanisms that are [put] in place beyond the actual commitments on [uranium] enrichment. the actual commitment on the removal or down-blending of nuclear materials,” Farhan said of the talks.
He added: “How we will have a long-term, sustainable verification regime is what will matter the most,. that is what will give the international community but also the regional countries the most confidence and the ability to look towards a better future.”
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, said the strait of Hormuz will not return to prewar conditions when it reopens. this does not mean acting against international laws or maritime navigation, Iran’s state media reported.
Ghalibaf added that Tehran will charge for services in the strait. adding as per the MOU, $300bn has been allocated to be invested in the country, part of which will be spent on reconstruction.
Leaders at the Group of Seven summit have backed Donald Trump’s tentative agreement with Iran to open the strait of Hormuz. extend a ceasefire.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called it a “very good deal”, noting it could stabilise the region and benefit economies.
The deal is set to be signed in Switzerland on Friday. aims to end US and UN sanctions on Tehran if a final agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program is reached.
Iran. the US will end fighting on all fronts, per MOU details published by Iran’s official IRNA news agency, and both countries will end naval blockades in the region.
Iran’s official news agency released details of the deal planned to be signed on Friday. shortly after a US official released a copy of the text.
Details published by IRNA included US commitments to grant Iran access to its frozen funds. end the blockade on its ships and ports while Tehran commits to facilitate the return of marine traffic in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman to prewar levels and not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.
The US. Iran have come to terms on a preliminary agreement for an immediate and permanent halt to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. The deal commits both sides. their allies to cease hostilities and refrain from the threat or use of force against each other – though Israel retains the right to strike back if Hezbollah attacks.
Israel has not been shown the final text of the MOU. according to its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, though senior US officials said he had been briefed consistently on its substance.
Iran will not receive broad sanctions relief simply by signing. Senior officials were emphatic on a press call that sanctions removal is directly tied to nuclear performance. Iran has committed to destroying its enriched uranium stockpile at minimum through down-blending under IAEA supervision – a concession officials called “a major. major win”.
The strait of Hormuz is set to reopen for toll-free commercial passage within 30 days. Iran had already stopped firing on vessels in the strait the day before the signing call – the first such pause in 100 days of conflict. One immediate upside for Tehran does kick in upon signing: a US treasury waiver on Iranian crude oil exports.
Both sides have 60 days to reach a final deal to be endorsed by a binding UN security council resolution. Senior US officials said the administration would know within “days or weeks, not months” if Iran was stalling –. was prepared to tighten economic pressure significantly if talks broke down.
Trump did negate that characterization later. telling reporters: “I don’t view it as hard … Just as long as they are behaving, I really don’t care that much.”
For a fuller accounting of the MOU, what’s in it,. what’s not, read my piece on key takeaways from the US-Iran deal.
Veteran US Republican senator Bill Cassidy has slammed the memorandum of understanding the Trump administration has reached with Iran – two days before both parties are set to sign it – as “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.
The Louisiana senator, who lost his primary last month to a Trump-backed challenger, wrote on X:
[Former president Ronald] Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed,. they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.
Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive. Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted,. the bombing has stopped. This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.
Before the text was released. Cassidy had already been commenting on what was being reported, while cautioning that he hadn’t seen the details.
He told a phone press conference of Louisiana reporters on Tuesday: “This is a bad deal. if the details remain the same. The deal, as I’ve heard it, makes your allies weaker and Iran stronger.”
And this morning. he told a reporter with Nexstar: “The details I’ve seen so far look awful … this will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder”.
Before getting on the plane, Trump told reporters that the 60-day deadline written in the US-Iran MOU “could take longer”
“I don’t view it as hard,” Trump said. “Just as long as they are behaving, I really don’t care that much.”
Iran’s foreign ministry has confirmed it is weighing a proposal for both countries’ presidents to sign the MOU in Geneva. a significant symbolic step up from the arrangement that had previously been on the table.
“Regarding the signing of the memorandum of understanding. one idea is that it be done by the presidents of the two countries, which is currently under review,” ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said.
Until now, the plan had been for JD Vance. the Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, to represent their respective countries at the ceremony.
A head-of-state signing would carry considerably more political weight,. for Tehran, would amount to a public acknowledgment from Washington of Iran’s standing as a negotiating equal.
Finally, the MOU gives both sides 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive final agreement, extendable by mutual consent. A binding UN security council resolution would be required to endorse any final deal.
“The United States of America. the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent.”
But the fragility shouldn’t be understated: one senior US official explained that “either side can walk away at any time”.
The official added that the Trump administration would know within “days or weeks. not months” if Iran was stringing it along.
And if talks collapse, they indicated the US was prepared to tighten the economic pressure significantly.
According to the officials on the call. the text makes clear that access to Iran’s frozen funds is contingent on the regime actually implementing the agreement’s terms.
“Such funds … shall be made fully usable for payment to any ultimate beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran … upon the implementation of the MOU.”
Officials on the call said Iran had pushed hard for the opposite: immediate access to its frozen assets the moment the MOU was signed.
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