Iran and US Sign Preliminary Deal to End Hostilities

Iran and the United States have signed the preliminary agreement aimed at ending hostilities between the two countries, initially announced Sunday.

Both the White House and Iranian state media confirmed the deal overnight into Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the so-called memorandum of understanding — a nonbinding short-term agreement stating each party’s intention to stop the war — during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron in Versailles, the historic setting of the 1919 treaty that ended World War I.

Macron was among the first to congratulate Trump after the signing ceremony. “This agreement is an important step in the right direction and will soon help lower energy prices for our citizens,” the French president wrote on X.

Under the provisional agreement, military action is immediately halted, including in Lebanon, and the two sides have 60 days to negotiate a final deal. Iran is required to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to allow the safe passage of commercial vessels. And the Islamic Republic reaffirms it “shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons.”

The U.S., meanwhile, is committed to withdrawing military forces from “the proximity” of Iran within 30 days of a final agreement and will lift economic sanctions.

While the deal makes reference to “the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war,” Israel is not explicitly mentioned.

A Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday indicated that relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump remained frosty. “Stop blowing up buildings,” the U.S. leader reportedly told Netanyahu, concerned that Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon could jeopardize the agreement.

European leaders had already welcomed the preliminary deal earlier this week. A final agreement will be endorsed by a binding United Nations Security Council resolution.