US and Iran deal to end war allows Tehran to sell oil and fuel – as it happened

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Talks on a final settlement between the US and Iran will begin immediately after the deal signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, AFP reports.

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Negotiations will continue for a 60-day window after the ceremony, officials told AFP.

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“Likely on Friday… a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin,” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said. “In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions.”

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Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, posted on X on Tuesday that the US must uphold every clause of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and US, particularly when it comes to ending the war in Lebanon.

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“Iranian resilience forced a strategic pivot: the US came to the table on Iran’s terms,” Azizi wrote. “Now, Washington must prove its commitment by ending the war against Lebanon and upholding every clause of the MOU.”

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“Any breach will be met with a decisive, crushing response.”

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In the rural town of Sirik, in southern Iran, temperatures over the past week have climbed to 45C (113F), and residents were still queueing to fill buckets of water days after US strikes reportedly damaged two drinking water facilities serving nearby villages.

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Amid the water shortages and the looming fear of war came news of a possible deal between Washington and Tehran. But for those struggling to pick up the pieces in the aftermath, the announcement brought little relief.

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“I fear the uncertainty surrounding [the peace deal],” said Nahid*, a mother in Sirik, who described how villagers were queueing for water in the punishing heat, worried the water shortages could last far longer. Although the water supply was restored after 12 hours, the amount reaching households remained nowhere near enough for drinking and daily chores.

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“My four-year-old woke up crying from dehydration and pain between her legs caused by chafing and the lack of water for basic hygiene,” she said.

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  A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP. The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. It “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.

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  Trump said that he would send the deal with Iran to the US Congress for a review. “I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” he said at the start of a meeting with the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”

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  Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”. Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.

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  The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.

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  An Iranian deputy foreign minister on Tuesday said the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports had been lifted ahead of the planned formal signing of a deal ending the war. “The lifting of the blockade was something we had emphasised from the outset. It has now begun, and the blockade has been lifted prior to the formal signing” scheduled for Friday, said Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, according to the government’s website.

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  John Thune, the US Senate majority leader, has reportedly asked the Trump administration for the text of the MOU with Iran. However, he says he has had no response so far, Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio.

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  China’s top diplomat told his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday that the next phase of negotiations between the United States and Iran – which Pakistan has helped mediate – will be “more difficult”. In a phone conversation ahead of the planned signing on Friday of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end their war, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar that “it is foreseeable that, compared with the first stage, the second stage of negotiations will be more difficult”.

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  Hezbollah believes Iran will not sign a nuclear ⁠deal with ⁠Washington ​unless Israel pulls its troops from southern ⁠Lebanon and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will ⁠push for Israel’s withdrawal ​in ‌its next ‌phase of talks with Washington. Hezbollah’s media ‌office said such a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a precondition for, the next ‌set of talks between Iran and the US, ​set to begin after the two formally sign their memorandum of understanding this ⁠coming Friday.

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  Israeli drone ⁠strikes targeted three vehicles in southern ⁠Lebanon ⁠on Tuesday, ​killing at least four people ⁠and wounding others, Lebanon’s National News ⁠Agency reported. Two people were ​killed ‌in a ‌double-tap strike, with ‌a drone hitting a car in the village of Mayfadoun followed by a ‌second strike after people had gathered at ​the scene.

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  Qatar, a key mediator between the US and Iran, said it believed the framework peace agreement could deliver security to the Middle East. “We are cautiously optimistic that the signing of the memorandum of understanding will lead to the next phase of regional security through the talks that will take place on the nuclear programme and on other issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha, as he praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

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The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

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Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.

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Such a move is likely to be controversial with many politicians and lawmakers opposed to offering Iran financial relief.

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It comes as oil prices sunk again on Tuesday, pulling back to $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, while the US stock market drifts near its all-time high.

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A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP.

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The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. It “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.

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It had previously been reported that the signing would take place in Geneva.

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Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group and political party, said it has received assurances from Iran that Tehran will not sign a final nuclear deal with the US unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon, Hezbollah’s media relations office has told the Reuters news agency.

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Trump said that he would send the deal with Iran to the US Congress for a review. “I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” he said at the start of a meeting with the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”

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The absence of the details of the memorandum of understanding with Iran has led to bipartisan scrutiny on Capitol Hill about what the agreement might contain and how favourable the terms are to the US.

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Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. James Lankford, a Republican senator, said: “If you want a deal to last, it can’t be an executive agreement.” “We’ve got to have a vote of Congress to be able to solidify (it) long term.”

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Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”.

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Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.

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He added that the main outcome from the MOU is that Iran will “never have a nucelar weapon” and that he will go over the deal with the media “in a couple of days”.

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He earlier told reporters this morning that he had a “great relationship” with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.

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“Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” he told reporters.

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Iranian state television said that Iranian oil tankers and other vessels had resumed shipping following a deal with Washington, in what appeared to be an easing of a US naval blockade.

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“Three Iranian oil tankers are currently sailing in the northern Indian Ocean, and two others carrying essential goods and livestock feed are en route and sailing towards southern ports,” said a state television reporter from a site in the strait of Hormuz.

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He added that “the operation to lift the naval blockade has been implemented”, in reference to the US measure in place since April.

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In unusually frank remarks, Trump seems to acknowledge the fact that Israel has been killing many civilians in its attacks on Lebanon that it claims are only targeting Hezbollah. He told reporters:

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Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed. And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you are looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses and they are not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.

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And I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because to be honest with you I think they will do a better job of doing it.

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Trump said he didn’t “like” that Israel attacked the Lebanese capital of Beirut – not the “southern side” – shortly before the deal with Iran was signed. “I let them know that. I didn’t like it – not at all,” Trump said.

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“If Israel can’t do the job, without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job, Syria will do the job,’ Trump said, referring to Syrian president, Ahmed al Sharaa, whom he has good relations with.

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During Syria’s civil war that broke out in 2011, Hezbollah sent thousands of fighters to help Bashar al-Assad stay in power. They remained until Sharaa’s Islamist rebel forces toppled the longtime ruler in December 2024. Sharaa is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that led the military operation to topple Assad.

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Trump said Sharaa “is very good with Hezbollah” and “does not like them”. “He’s been very good for me. He’s protected everything that I have asked for,” he said, referring to Sharaa.

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Trump receives Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa at the White House in November 2025.”,”caption”:”Donald Trump receives Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa at the White House in November 2025.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Balkis Press/ABACA/Shutterstock”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1781605510000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.25 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1781606746000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”06.45 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1781606618000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.43 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.43″,”title”:”Trump thinks Syria will do a ‘better job’ of ‘taking care of Hezbollah’ than Israel”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 16 Jun 2026 17.19 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 16 Jun 2026 03.08 EDT”},{“id”:”6a31231d8f0893b62b3e4310″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Trump also said he had a “great relationship” with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.

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“Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” he told reporters.

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Donald Trump also said he considers Israel’s war on Lebanon a “minor” one and believes his deal with Iran can survive even if Israeli attacks continue.

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“I consider that the minor war,” Trump said. “Iran’s the big one, but we have that little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head and that’s Hezbollah”.

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Iran does not agree with Trump’s assessment as it is increasingly asserting that continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon will violate its agreement with the US, and has sought to characterise the US and Israel as one entity in this respect.

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In his comments to reporters, Donald Trump also warned that “all hell will rain down” on Iran if it tries to get a nuclear weapon.

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“The only ⁠thing that ​really ‌matters to ‌me is Iran ‌will never have a nuclear weapon, and it says it loud and ‌clear,” he said, referring to the agreement with Tehran.

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As my colleague Graham Russell notes in this useful explainer, Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful and has not publicly committed to giving up the enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under three nuclear sites that were badly damaged by US strikes last year.

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Trump faces significant political pressure to secure a better deal on this issue than the one he scuppered during his first term. He withdrew the US from a 2015 multilateral Iran deal, negotiated by Barack Obama, that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, including international inspections.

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Iran responded by ramping up its enrichment of uranium, producing more than 400kg of material at close to bomb-grade purity. The eventual fate of that uranium is likely to be a key negotiating point during ⁠the upcoming broader talks.

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We have some comments from Donald Trump who has been speaking to reporters at the G7 summit.

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According to the Reuters news agency, the US president said the deal with Iran was ⁠going to a “second stage” and said Washington was not investing any money in Iran as part of the agreement.

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“We have our deal done with Iran, and it ‌should be successful, it goes to ​a second stage, which I think would ⁠be actually easier,” he told journalists.

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Despite Iran warning that continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon will violate the agreement with the US, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli artillery shelling targeting the outskirts of al-Rayhan in Jezzine, a district in southern Lebanon, this morning.

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The NNA also reported that a drone targeted a van in the Bint Jbeil district, also in southern Lebanon. There were no immediate reports of any casualties in both cases and we have not yet been able to independently verify these reports.

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Overnight, Hezbollah reportedly claimed responsibility for attacking Israeli soldiers advancing towards Kfar Tebnit, a town around four miles north of the Litani river and close to the city of Nabatieh in the south.

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Speaking to diplomats in Tehran, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued presence on the country’s territory constituted a violation of the ​agreement with the US.

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“The important point I want to emphasise here is that in our view, there are two parties to this memorandum – one side is America and Israel, and the other side is Iran and Hezbollah,” Araghchi said.

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“This is perhaps the most important issue in the memorandum – the declaration of an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he said, as he confirmed that Tehran and Washington will start a new round ⁠of ⁠negotiations on ​Friday in Switzerland.

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Araghchi said the memorandum of understanding will officially enter into force on Friday.”,”caption”:”Abbas Araghchi said the memorandum of understanding will officially enter into force on Friday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

This is scheduled to happen after the memorandum of understanding is signed in Geneva at a ceremony attended by the US vice-president, JD Vance, and the chief Iranian negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.

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Even though the intensity of Israeli strikes on Lebanon has decreased since the announcement of the framework US-Iran deal, analysts say it is very unlikely they will stop altogether.

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Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would not leave the territory it was occupying in Lebanon despite the ceasefire agreement and has insisted on the right to protect northern Israeli communities from Hezbollah’s rockets and drones.

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prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, holds a news conference, following the US- Iran deal, in Jerusalem, on 15 June 2026.”,”caption”:”Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, holds a news conference, following the US- Iran deal, in Jerusalem, on 15 June 2026. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/UPI/Shutterstock”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah assets and fighters but regularly kills civilians and destroys civilian infrastructure in broad attacks across southern Lebanon which have been carried out with effective impunity. But since Iran tied Lebanon to its negotiations with the US, Netanyahu, who is reliant on Washington for military and diplomatic support, has been forced to listen to Trump, at least somewhat.

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Hezbollah, meanwhile, credited Iran with a “major achievement” in reaching the agreement, which it said could lead to “the full liberation of our land” and the “return of our prisoners to their homeland and families”.

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Along with praising the deal, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group said it was committed to resisting Israel “until full withdrawal is achieved”.

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran ahead of the expected signing of the framework peace deal in a couple of days.

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America’s ⁠memorandum ​of understanding (MoU) with Iran ⁠is “a very general document”, the US vice-president, JD Vance, has said, adding that specifics ⁠of the ​deal ‌will be ‌worked out during further ‌negotiations.

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“The MoU … is about a page and half so it ‌is a very general document,” Vance ​said on CNN on Monday night, as he did the rounds of US networks to talk up the deal. “On a number of ​issues, ​we are ​going to ​have ‌to figure ​this ​stuff out during the technical negotiation phase.”

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Vance’s comments came as many Republicans on Capitol Hill said they needed more information about the agreement, with some expressing skepticism as they ask the White House for details.

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“I just don’t know enough about it,” the Senate majority leader, John Thune, told reporters in the Capitol. “Even the people who follow this stuff closely up here don’t know that much about it.”

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The agreement announced Sunday to end the war on Iran, set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Geneva, is centred around reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the US naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks.

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Vance ⁠also said nuclear ​inspectors will return ⁠to Iran as part of the deal ⁠with Washington to end ​the war.

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“In fact, one ‌of the core parts of the agreement is that the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the ‌United States are going to help Iran destroy ​the highly enriched stockpile, and that’s something that’s spelled out very clearly” ⁠in the memorandum of understanding the ​US ​and Iran ​had already agreed to, NBC ​News quoted ‌Vance as saying.

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of the International Atomic Energy Agency”,”caption”:”Flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency outside the entrance of the Vienna International Center in Vienna. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Lisa Leutner/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

What the deal specifies about the future of Iran’s nuclear program has not yet been made clear, as the details are still to be revealed publicly and both sides have given different accounts of what has ​been agreed so far.

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Donald Trump has repeated that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon” while officials from Pakistan, which mediated the deal, reportedly said talks on the nuclear issue would continue over the next 60 days under the agreement.

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Trump has said the US could resume attacks on Iran if it failed to reach a nuclear deal. Here are some other key developments:

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  With a memorandum ⁠of understanding ⁠between the ​US and Iran ⁠​signed, Trump said the strait of Hormuz “will be completely open” by Friday. A signing ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday in Geneva, which Trump said he will probably not attend.

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  The deal included a ceasefire in Lebanon but did not provide for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from areas that they occupied. Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam has said diplomatic efforts with the US are continuing in order to achieve the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from territory in southern Lebanon.

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  However, in his first public address after the deal signing, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces will also remain in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria “for as long as necessary”. He also announced he would be running for relection.

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  Hezbollah has welcomed the memorandum of ⁠understanding ⁠between the ​US and ⁠Iran, saying it had resulted in ⁠a comprehensive ​ceasefire ‌across ‌all fronts, including Lebanon. In ‌a written statement, the Tehran-backed militant group warned Israel that it ‌would not accept any attacks ​that violate Lebanon’s sovereignty or targeted its ⁠people. It said Lebanon’s ​inclusion ​in the ​agreement reflected Iran’s ​commitment ‌to ​ending ​the war.

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Key events

Closing summary

• Two months of final negotiations will begin immediately after the initial deal between the US and Iran is signed on Friday. Negotiations will continue for a 60-day window after the ceremony, officials told AFP, leading to a plan for the lifting of economic sanctions and decisions on the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme.

• A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP. The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. It “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.

• Trump said that he would send the deal with Iran to the US Congress for a review. “I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” he said at the start of a meeting with the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”

• Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”. Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.

• The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.

• An Iranian deputy foreign minister on Tuesday said the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports had been lifted ahead of the planned formal signing of a deal ending the war. “The lifting of the blockade was something we had emphasised from the outset. It has now begun, and the blockade has been lifted prior to the formal signing” scheduled for Friday, said Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, according to the government’s website.

• John Thune, the US Senate majority leader, has reportedly asked the Trump administration for the text of the MOU with Iran. However, he says he has had no response so far, Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio.

• Hezbollah believes Iran will not sign a nuclear ⁠deal with ⁠Washington ​unless Israel pulls its troops from southern ⁠Lebanon and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will ⁠push for Israel’s withdrawal ​in ‌its next ‌phase of talks with Washington. Hezbollah’s media ‌office said such a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a precondition for, the next ‌set of talks between Iran and the US, ​set to begin after the two formally sign their memorandum of understanding this ⁠coming Friday.

• The US must uphold every clause of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and US, particularly when it comes to ending the war in Lebanon, Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, posted on X on Tuesday. “Iranian resilience forced a strategic pivot: the US came to the table on Iran’s terms,” Azizi wrote. “Now, Washington must prove its commitment by ending the war against Lebanon and upholding every clause of the MOU. Any breach will be met with a decisive, crushing response.”

• Israeli drone ⁠strikes targeted three vehicles in southern ⁠Lebanon ⁠on Tuesday, ​killing at least four people ⁠and wounding others, Lebanon’s National News ⁠Agency reported. Two people were ​killed ‌in a ‌double-tap strike, with ‌a drone hitting a car in the village of Mayfadoun followed by a ‌second strike after people had gathered at ​the scene. Iran’s Top Joint Military Command, ​Khatam al-Anbiya Central ‌Headquarters, said in a statement that Israel should expect a hard response from the Iranian armed forces if it did not stop its attacks on southern Lebanon, days after Tehran and Washington announced a MoU to end the regional war.

• Qatar, a key mediator between the US and Iran, said it believed the framework peace agreement could deliver security to the Middle East. “We are cautiously optimistic that the signing of the memorandum of understanding will lead to the next phase of regional security through the talks that will take place on the nuclear programme and on other issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha, as he praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

Hundreds of anti-regime protesters gathered outside Los Angeles stadium before the Iran match against New Zealand, waving pre-Islamic revolution lion-and-sun flags and calling for change in Tehran.

Reuters has a rundown on the toll that these past 15 weeks have had on Lebanon. The country was pulled into the conflict on 2 March, when the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran, triggering weeks of airstrikes and an Israeli ground campaign.

Casualties

At least 3,826 people were killed and 11,851 wounded in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.

The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and ⁠combatants, but the death toll includes 247 children, 363 women and 133 healthcare workers, according to Reuters.

At least ​28 Israeli soldiers were killed in this latest round of fighting, according ‌to a Reuters tally of Israeli ‌military announcements, while four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.

Destruction

More than 68,000 ‌housing units across the country have been damaged or destroyed, according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research, which cover the period from 2 March to 17 May.

More than 8,000 of those destroyed units were in Beirut and its southern suburbs, while nearly 30,000 were in the three southernmost districts of Lebanon.

Beirut and its southern suburbs is thought to ahve sustained at least $365m in damages, according to a report published by the United Nations Development Programme.

Displacement

More than 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes and evacuation warnings, according to Lebanese authorities. Hundreds of thousands had fled Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel’s military ordered entirely ​evacuated for the first time during this war.

Economic Impact

Lebanon’s economy could contract by at least 7% this year because of the war, finance minister Yassine Jaber told Reuters in May.

The 2024 war, which cost Lebanon at least $8.5 billion in physical damage and economic losses, led to Lebanon’s real GDP contracting by 7.1%, the World Bank said, leading to a cumulative GDP decline of nearly 40% since 2019.

Report: Two months of talks for final settlement to begin immediately after deal signing

Talks on a final settlement between the US and Iran will begin immediately after the deal signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, AFP reports.

Negotiations will continue for a 60-day window after the ceremony, officials told AFP.

“Likely on Friday… a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin,” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said. “In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions.”

Pope Leo on Tuesday praised the interim deal between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East, saying “thanks be to God” that the two powers are set to formalise their accord on Friday.

Leo said: “There will still be several points to settle, but it is always better to do so through dialogue, through negotiations, and not by returning to war.

“I hope that it truly is a solution to the war, that the war really is over, and that we can move forward.”

Andrew Roth

It took more than a day after news of Donald Trump’s deal with Iran went public for Benjamin Netanyahu to speak out.

When he finally appeared at a press conference on Monday evening, the Israeli prime minister skirted a cornerstone of his past public appearances: his excellent relationship with the US president.

“There are cases in which President Trump and I do not see eye to eye,” he said when asked about that. “I am responsible for Israel’s security interests, and it needs to be done wisely.”

As to the deal, he told its many critics not to pass judgement yet: “We do not know what the agreement will be.”

Iran’s Top Joint Military Command, ​Khatam al-Anbiya Central ‌Headquarters, said in a statement that Israel should expect a hard response from the Iranian armed forces if it did not stop its attacks on southern Lebanon, days after Tehran and Washington announced a MoU to end the regional war.

Here are some images coming out of Lebanon today:

‘Washington must prove its commitment’ by ending war in Lebanon, Iranian official says

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, posted on X on Tuesday that the US must uphold every clause of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and US, particularly when it comes to ending the war in Lebanon.

“Iranian resilience forced a strategic pivot: the US came to the table on Iran’s terms,” Azizi wrote. “Now, Washington must prove its commitment by ending the war against Lebanon and upholding every clause of the MOU.”

“Any breach will be met with a decisive, crushing response.”

Scepticism in Iran as peace deal nears

Deepa Parent

In the rural town of Sirik, in southern Iran, temperatures over the past week have climbed to 45C (113F), and residents were still queueing to fill buckets of water days after US strikes reportedly damaged two drinking water facilities serving nearby villages.

Amid the water shortages and the looming fear of war came news of a possible deal between Washington and Tehran. But for those struggling to pick up the pieces in the aftermath, the announcement brought little relief.

“I fear the uncertainty surrounding [the peace deal],” said Nahid*, a mother in Sirik, who described how villagers were queueing for water in the punishing heat, worried the water shortages could last far longer. Although the water supply was restored after 12 hours, the amount reaching households remained nowhere near enough for drinking and daily chores.

“My four-year-old woke up crying from dehydration and pain between her legs caused by chafing and the lack of water for basic hygiene,” she said.

Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge today that Israel has been killing many civilians in its attacks in Lebanon, while claiming to only target Hezbollah.

Here is video of his remarks:

The day so far

• A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP. The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. It “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.

• Trump said that he would send the deal with Iran to the US Congress for a review. “I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” he said at the start of a meeting with the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”

• Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”. Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.

• The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.

• An Iranian deputy foreign minister on Tuesday said the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports had been lifted ahead of the planned formal signing of a deal ending the war. “The lifting of the blockade was something we had emphasised from the outset. It has now begun, and the blockade has been lifted prior to the formal signing” scheduled for Friday, said Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, according to the government’s website.

• John Thune, the US Senate majority leader, has reportedly asked the Trump administration for the text of the MOU with Iran. However, he says he has had no response so far, Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio.

• China’s top diplomat told his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday that the next phase of negotiations between the United States and Iran – which Pakistan has helped mediate – will be “more difficult”. In a phone conversation ahead of the planned signing on Friday of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end their war, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar that “it is foreseeable that, compared with the first stage, the second stage of negotiations will be more difficult”.

• Hezbollah believes Iran will not sign a nuclear ⁠deal with ⁠Washington ​unless Israel pulls its troops from southern ⁠Lebanon and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will ⁠push for Israel’s withdrawal ​in ‌its next ‌phase of talks with Washington. Hezbollah’s media ‌office said such a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a precondition for, the next ‌set of talks between Iran and the US, ​set to begin after the two formally sign their memorandum of understanding this ⁠coming Friday.

• Israeli drone ⁠strikes targeted three vehicles in southern ⁠Lebanon ⁠on Tuesday, ​killing at least four people ⁠and wounding others, Lebanon’s National News ⁠Agency reported. Two people were ​killed ‌in a ‌double-tap strike, with ‌a drone hitting a car in the village of Mayfadoun followed by a ‌second strike after people had gathered at ​the scene.

• Qatar, a key mediator between the US and Iran, said it believed the framework peace agreement could deliver security to the Middle East. “We are cautiously optimistic that the signing of the memorandum of understanding will lead to the next phase of regional security through the talks that will take place on the nuclear programme and on other issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha, as he praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

Hezbollah believes Iran will not sign a nuclear ⁠deal with ⁠Washington ​unless Israel pulls its troops from southern ⁠Lebanon and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will ⁠push for Israel’s withdrawal ​in ‌its next ‌phase of talks with Washington.

Hezbollah’s media ‌office said such a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a precondition for, the next ‌set of talks between Iran and the US, ​set to begin after the two formally sign their memorandum of understanding this ⁠coming Friday.

The media office said ​the ​group has ​received Iranian assurances that any ​Israeli ‌breach of ​the ​Lebanon ceasefire would affect its upcoming negotiations with the US.

US to allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again

The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.

Such a move is likely to be controversial with many politicians and lawmakers opposed to offering Iran financial relief.

It comes as oil prices sunk again on Tuesday, pulling back to $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, while the US stock market drifts near its all-time high.

Israeli drone ⁠strikes targeted three vehicles in southern ⁠Lebanon ⁠on Tuesday, ​killing at least four people ⁠and wounding others, Lebanon’s National News ⁠Agency reported.

Two people were ​killed ‌in a ‌double-tap strike, with ‌a drone hitting a car in the village of Mayfadoun followed by a ‌second strike after people had gathered at ​the scene.

Another drone strike on the town of ⁠Shoukin killed two ​other people, the ​agency said.

There ​was no ​immediate ‌comment from ​the ​Israeli military on the reported strikes.