After days of rapid shifts between negotiations, threats and new bombings, the world awaited the news that the US and Iran had signed a first agreement that could eventually bring peace to the war involving Iran.
Instead, X received the news that an agreement would be signed on Friday.
Shehbaz Sharif writes that the signing will take place in Switzerland, but does not provide details about what the parties have agreed to.
“With the agreement in place, mediators will hold a series of meetings during the week,” Sharif writes.
US President Donald Trump writes on Truth Social that he is opening the Strait of Hormuz and, with immediate effect, ending the US blockade of Iranian ports.
“Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he writes.
Memorandum of Understanding
The agreement that is said to have been finalized is not a full peace agreement, but a memorandum of understanding, according to previous reports, with a 60-day ceasefire. During that time, the future of Iran’s nuclear energy program will be negotiated, among other things.
In addition to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the United States is, according to previous reports, to begin repaying parts of around $24 billion in oil and gas revenues that have been frozen, partly due to sanctions against the Iranian nuclear program.
Sanctions against Iran’s oil exports are also lifted.
The day before the announcement was marked by a variety of different reports. The agreement also looked set to fall apart when Israel attacked the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut early Sunday, prompting Iran to protest.
Trump reacted
That an agreement should also cover Israel’s warfare in Lebanon has been an Iranian demand, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said that Israel’s attack “once again shows that the US either does not have the will or the ability to fulfill its obligations.”
Donald Trump – who promised an agreement during his 80th birthday on Sunday – also criticized Israel’s actions.
“This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have taken place, especially on a special day when we are so close to a peace deal with Iran,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
According to Fox News, Trump spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu and asked what he was doing – reportedly using strong profanity.
But at least Trump received word of a deal on his birthday.
The announcement of an agreement also came on Monday in Iran, fitting for the country’s leadership, which had promised it would not be signed on Sunday.
