In brief
- The US and Iran have signed a deal to end the War in the Middle East.
- A member of Trump's Republican party calling the deal "the worst foreign policy blunder in decades."
US President Donald Trump and Iran's president signed a deal Thursday meant to end the Middle East war, with Iran agreeing to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief.
Trump put his signature to the memorandum of understanding during a candlelit dinner at the Palace of Versailles following a G7 summit, as host French President Emmanuel Macron and other guests applauded, a video posted by a Trump aide showed.
"Just signed it," Trump told reporters as he emerged from the palace.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by the state news agency IRNA, said the document "was finalised with the signatures of the presidents."
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, which mediated the agreement, said on X that it "shall enter into force with immediate effect."
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The deal aims to draw a line under the war launched 28 February by the United States and Israel, prompting Iran to counterattack with missile and drone salvos across the region — and effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world economy. The US responded by blocking shipping to and from Iranian ports.
"As a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade," Sharif wrote.
Under the text, the US also commits to immediately waive oil sanctions crippling Iran's economy.
And once a final agreement is reached on the Islamic republic's nuclear program, the United States will also facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund supported by regional nations, the deal says.
The agreement had earlier been slated for signatures by Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and US Vice President JD Vance. Iran said an in-person ceremony was no longer needed.
But Sharif said an official ceremony will take place Friday in Switzerland and technical talks will commence.
'Great victory'
Iran insisted the deal represented a US "failure."
"People will see it and judge," Ghalibaf said on state television on Thursday, after the text was released by both sides.
Highlighting the global impact of any deal, China said Thursday that its top diplomat had impressed on Iran that it was "key" for all sides to "genuinely implement" their commitments.
But Trump's decision to pull the plug on the war, in which 13 US service members were killed and vast amounts of US ammunition stockpiles were used up, has unsettled some of his own allies at home.
The agreement is only a temporary arrangement meant to give time for starting detailed negotiations on the far more complex issue of long-term control over Iran's nuclear power ambitions, which the US has long suspected of harbouring a secret bomb-making program.
Trump said earlier Thursday that he was prepared to "bomb the hell" out of Iran if they violated the agreement.
But US Senator Bill Cassidy from Trump's own Republican Party was scathing.
"Iran's nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works," he said. "Sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped. This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades."
Negotiations to begin
A two-month negotiating period now begins, with the much-anticipated reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as the first step.
Under the terms of the deal released by US officials, Iran will dilute its enriched uranium stocks, possibly by "down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA" — the UN's nuclear watchdog.
This would lead to more far-reaching economic assistance for Iran.
But a US official said that the United States would not be required to contribute financially.
Oil prices have tumbled in recent days as optimism grew of a lasting Middle East peace agreement, and briefly reversed course on Thursday before stabilising later in the day.
Lebanese front
An Israeli drone strike in south Lebanon killed one person on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media, hours after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war.
"An enemy drone targeted a car" in the Kfar Tebnit region, killing one person and seriously wounding another, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Israel's military meanwhile announced the death of one of its soldiers the night before during an incident in south Lebanon that also left seven other troops wounded.
Since Iran and the US announced they had reached an agreement on Tuesday, there has been a sharp decrease in the level of violence in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of the Islamic republic's supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli campaign.
Israel retaliated with broad strikes across Lebanon and by launching a ground invasion into the south, which borders Israel and has long been under Hezbollah's sway.
Since the agreement was announced, Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for any new attacks against Israel.
Still, there have been limited exchanges of fire, and on Tuesday Israeli strikes killed four people in Lebanon.
Israel has not officially commented on the US-Iran agreement.
China approves
China said on Thursday it "welcomes" news that the United States and Iran signed a deal to end the Middle East war, urging both sides to continue their cooperation in a second round of negotiations.
"China welcomes this development and hopes that all relevant parties — including the US and Iran — will uphold the spirit of their agreement and earnestly honour their commitments," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference, urging the US and Iran to "meet each other halfway" in the next stage of talks.
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