U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday a preliminary agreement to end the war in West Asia has been electronically signed by the U.S. and Iran. The details of the agreement are yet to be made public and both countries remarked that a permanent truce is yet to be negotiated.
"The deal's all signed," Trump said after he arrived in France for a summit of the G7 group of big economies. He said Vice President JD Vance would attend a formal signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday.
Vance told CNN that the signed memorandum was only about 1-1/2 pages "and so it is a very general document." Vance said it included "a very significant sanctions relief package" for Iran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was an "important step" toward stopping the fighting but noted a final agreement for a lasting truce "has yet to take shape."
The agreement would extend a tenuous ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Negotiators would address difficult issues like the future of Iran's nuclear program during the next phase.
The deal is the most significant step yet to resolve the conflict, which has killed at least 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and upended global energy markets.
Much about the agreement remains unknown, and whether its provisions differ from the April ceasefire was unclear.
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 always denied intending to build a nuclear weapon, say they have given up little by agreeing to resume the diplomatic discussions with Trump officials over the nuclear program that were interrupted in February by Trump's decision to launch the war.
U.S. and Iranian officials say the agreement could eventually deliver substantial economic benefits to Iran by lifting sanctions, unfreezing foreign assets and setting up a $300 billion reconstruction fund, paid for by neighboring Gulf states, which host U.S. military bases.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran would have to satisfy U.S. demands never to build a nuclear weapon and cut off support for militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to get those benefits.
Iran has suggested it will retain control with Oman over the strait. The U.S. said the strait will be open toll-free for 60 days and it would expect that provision to be part of a final agreement as well.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump may decide to release Washington's agreement with Tehran before Friday.
Iran agreed to sharply curtail its nuclear program in a deal signed in 2015 with the U.S. and other countries. Trump withdrew the U.S. from that accord during his first term as president. That agreement allowed Iran to regain billions of dollars in frozen assets, which Trump has frequently derided 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 program and end support for regional militias like Hezbollah remain unmet.
-With inputs from Reuters