US, Iran Sign MOU to End Middle East War, Strait of Hormuz to Be Toll-Free

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad ⁠Bagher Ghalibaf have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at ending the Middle East war, with the signing ceremony scheduled for Friday, senior U.S. officials said Monday.

During a press call, the officials made the remarks on the electronic signing of the MOU, a day after Trump announced the agreement to extend the two countries' ceasefire for 60 days, during which they will conduct negotiations on unresolved nuclear and other issues to craft a final peace agreement.

They confirmed that the MOU states that the Strait of Hormuz will be open toll-free for 60 days, noting that Washington expects toll-free traffic in the channel -- a key shipping route for oil, natural gas and other commodities -- to be part of the final agreement.

Other details of the MOU were not immediately available, but the officials said that they will be released within the next day or two.

"They will be put out in the next 24-48 hours, and this is really just the first MOU," one official said, stressing that a key U.S. principle is to ensure "full transparency" on the negotiations with Tehran.

"And then we're going to launch into the real technical discussions later this week ... the vice president will continue to lead these negotiations," he added.

Another official expected a "significant increase" in ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that Iran all but closed during the war that began with the U.S.-Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic in late February.

"You will see a significant increase in traffic ‌in the ‌Strait of Hormuz, actually starting already, and that ‌will ramp up slowly over time," the official said, noting that there may not be a "return to normal" in the next two weeks.

Observers anticipated that the return of traffic to pre-war levels would take time, given the need to clear mines and secure safe passage along the waterway, not to mention safety concerns among risk-averse seafarers.

The MOU makes it "explicit" that traffic in the strait will be toll-free for 60 days, the officials pointed out amid questions over whether it can continue to remain so beyond the two-month period.

"I will say that on the toll question, we're quite explicit in this MOU. The strait will be open toll-free for 60 days, and we expect that to become part of the final agreement as well," the second official said.

Iranian state media reported that the crucial waterway will be open without tolls for 60 days, after which Iran and Oman will manage it.

Restoring free passage through the strait was a key part of the U.S.-Iran negotiations, as disruptions to maritime traffic in the waterway have pushed up energy prices, deepened inflation concerns and weighed heavily on the global economy.

South Korea and other countries have hoped for an early peace settlement between the U.S. and Iran as their vessels have been trapped in the Strait of Hormuz due to the war. Two dozen South Korea-linked vessels still remain stranded in the strait.

During the press call, the officials reiterated that any U.S. benefits under the peace deal would be contingent on Iran's "performance."

"We discussed the possibility of releasing frozen funds, sanctions relief ... a big US$300 billion fund to rebuild their country," the first official said. "All of these things are going to be tied to performance."

The official underscored that the U.S. is "prepared" to release Iranian funds frozen by U.S. sanctions, and ease anti-Tehran sanctions, but reiterated that all U.S. steps will be tied to "verifiable milestones" in Iran's implementation of the deal.

"We'll do some small gestures of that in the beginning if they make some small gestures to us that show that they're willing to meet their commitments as well," he said.

He added, "Our goal will be to continue to show with actions, not just with words, that both parties have an understanding of where they want to get to, and that they're both seeking verifiable and hopefully irreversible steps towards getting there."