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The US vice president has told NBC News that the deal to end the war “absolutely” includes nuclear inspectors returning to Iran.

He added that while the exact date for their return is still to be agreed upon, he expects it will “happen very quickly”. He also said the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will play a role in destroying Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

“One of the core parts of the agreement is that the IAEA and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile, and that is something that is spelled out very clearly in the MoU,” he said.

He also said “benefits will flow” to Iran “if they comply”.

“That’s what we hope to see. We want them to behave like a normal country. I want them to have a successful country, but only if they do what’s necessary to commit long term to not building a nuclear weapon.”

Trump dismisses reports of US payments to Iran.

Here’s his full statement on Truth Social:

“Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon! Also, the story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!”

US Vice President JD Vance has published a video on X, explaining what the “great peace deal” with Iran entails as pressure grows for more clarity.

He said the deal means the Strait of Hormuz opens “immediately” and “ensures that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon”.

“If the Iranians make the long-term commitment never to rebuild [their nuclear programme], then they are going to be welcomed into the global economy”. If they violate those commitments, they are “never going to have the resources to do so”, he said.

He went on to describe the deal as a “win-win for the American people”.

The Trump administration has been under growing pressure from Republican Iran hawks and Democrats, who have said the agreement is weaker than the Obama-era deal that Trump tore up. Many members of Congress are demanding clarity and congressional oversight.

Israeli leaders, including the far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, have reacted to the US-Iran agreement, which is expected to bring an end to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

JD Vance in an interview with NBC News.

“What the deal says is that for the 60 days that we’re negotiating the final deal, there will be toll-free access in and out of the Strait of Hormuz,” he told the US broadcaster.

Vance attributed reports that Tehran plans to impose fees to political posturing within Iran.

“It’s very clear here that… some elements within Iran are going to… try to emphasize or overemphasize certain benefits that the Iranians get, while underemphasizing what the United States gets,” he said.

“The truth is that the tolls will not be charged, the Strait of Hormuz will be open, and by the way, we’re already seeing a substantial increase in toll-free traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Republican Senator John Thune has told reporters he doesn’t know enough about the deal with Iran to comment on it yet, but he expects Congress to be briefed soon.

“We do not have an agreement just yet, so we will see when there is text out there,” Thune said. “I’m guessing there will be a high level of interest among our members.”

Thune said he hopes to receive “more details before Friday”.

He also suggested that Congress would likely want to hold some type of vote.

“I think there are some requirements that are triggered because of the nuclear components of the deal, in terms of notification or informing Congress. I know there is probably some expectation that there may be a vote at some point,” he said.

Earlier, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, among others, expressed a desire for Congress to have greater input and be briefed on the deal’s details.

Trump said the MoU between the US and Iran has already been signed electronically.

US officials told Reuters and AFP that the agreement was signed by Trump, Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

“The president wanted to sign it personally because he wanted to show his dedication to bring this through to a successful resolution,” a senior US administration official told AFP.

Iran has yet to comment on the report.

Earlier, Ghalibaf wrote on X that Iran has taken a “great step toward final victory” after the country’s “historic resistance” against Israel and the US.

Trump has meanwhile told reporters in France, where he is attending a G7 summit, that Vance will travel to Switzerland for the official signing ceremony on Friday, and that the text of the agreement will be made public soon.

Yassamin Ansari, one of two Iranian-American legislators in the US Congress, has cautiously welcomed the announcement of the US-Iran deal.

“An end to the war is a positive step,” Ansari said in a post on X, while noting that Congress has yet to see what has been agreed to.

“Congress must have extensive review of any final agreement signed with the Islamic Republic,” the Democratic congresswoman added.

Ansari also noted that the deal “comes after a conflict that inflicted enormous costs and leaves both the United States and the Iranian people worse off”.

“Tremendous loss of life, international instability, and skyrocketing gas prices. This never should have happened in the first place.”

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has voiced concern “about the continuation of Israel’s attacks on south Lebanon”, despite the US and Iran reaching a deal to end fighting on all fronts.

Netanyahu has said that Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon.

Trump has said the agreement with Iran is “all signed”, adding that the Strait of Hormuz will be “completely open” by Friday.

Trump was speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the G7 meeting in France.

Saman Rezaei, the head of Iran’s merchant marine union, says he believes the transit system in the Strait of Hormuz will “never return to its pre-war condition”, even with the eventual end of the crisis.

“For centuries, the strait has been a safe haven for merchant shipping, but this war has shattered the previous order and structure, and we will have to wait for a new order and a more effective role for its coastal states,” he said.

Rezaei, who serves as the secretary-general of the Iranian Merchant Mariners Syndicate (IMMS), an affiliate of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), said the global shipping industry believes that a full return to normal in the strait could be a “long and uncertain process”.

The recovery, he argued, rests on a “convergence of judgments” based on “sustainable peace, a reduction in the apparent threat, and several cycles of incident-free transit”.

As for a specific timeline, Rezaei noted that the ITF has said it could take “weeks, if not months” due to an immense backlog of ships and the need to change crews.

“Also, several major assets of the Ports and Transport Authority and the Trade and Oil Authority on both sides of the Gulf have been damaged by the war, requiring significant funding, and time to repair and rebuild,” he added.

The details of the MoU between the US and Iran have not yet been made fully public, but officials on both sides have offered some indications of what may be included.

• Iran’s National Security Council said on Monday that the deal ends fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and lifts the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.
• Both sides say negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme as well as relief from sanctions will take place in follow up talks during the 60-day period after the MoU is officially signed in Switzerland on Friday.
• Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will be “open to all” on Friday, while Vance, the US vice president, said there would be no tolls on traffic in the waterway during the 60-day period.
• A senior Iranian official told Reuters the US had agreed to release $25bn of Iran’s frozen assets and waive sanctions on oil for a specified period of time.
• But Vance denied that, telling US media that “there hasn’t been a single dollar of sanctions relief or unfrozen assets” from Washington or its allies.
• Vance also said the MoU is a “general document” which is around “a page and a half”. Details of the text could be released soon, he added.

• Representative Betty McCollum said the memorandum of understanding amounts to a 60-day extension of the earlier ceasefire, and warned that, without addressing the deeper issues, “long-term peace will remain out of reach”.
• Representative Diana DeGette said the war on Iran was a “spectacular failure” and that the “skepticism is warranted” around the deal in light of Trump’s track record. “The war must end”, DeGette added, “but whether America’s security is actually better off remains to be seen”.
• Senator Andy Kim said the American public deserves to know the contents of the agreement. A deal with Iran “requires time, thoughtfulness, and careful diplomacy”, he said, adding: “We have not seen that from this administration.”

The US vice president has given televised interviews to several US broadcasters.

A look at their headlines:

• Good Morning America on ABC News: Vance says Iran agreement has been digitally signed, but remains vague on its key elements.
• Mornings on CBS News: Vance denies that Iran will receive “billions of dollars of assets” in deal.
• Squawk Box on CNBC: Vance says “a lot” of Iran deal details to figure out, but US has “all the cards”.
• The Lead with Jake Tapper on CNN: Vance defends Iran agreement from Republican criticism.
   
• Hannity on Fox News: Iran doesn’t get a “dime” from anyone if they don’t change their behaviour.
• NBC News: Vance says nuclear inspectors “absolutely” will return to Iran under terms to end war.

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s Quds Force, has told Iranian media that the US-Israel war on his country has completely “discredited America” and accelerated the “collapse” of the “criminal Israeli regime”.

Highlights from his interview:

• Qaani said that despite unprecedented pressure, maximum destruction, and horrific crimes, “not a single resistance group abandoned the field”, adding that this steadfastness has “terrified the enemies”.
• He said that regional groups independently decided to take the lead against the US to protect Iran, stating: “This was their own decision, without anyone even asking them a single word.”
• He declared that “Hezbollah cannot be dismantled” and that the group represents the entire Shia community and much of the non-Shia community in Lebanon, warning that “everything you have seen from Hezbollah is only the tip of the iceberg”.
• Qaani pointed to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait as a winning card, describing it as “like wax in the hands of the boys of Hezbollah, Ansar Allah [the Houthis], and Yemen”, while claiming that advanced US warships “did not dare to pass through”.
• He praised Iran’s negotiators for dealing with mediators with full authority, concluding that “steadfastness in the Lebanon issue proved that the men of the battlefield and diplomacy are of the resistance kind”.

Saman Rezaei, the head of the Iranian Merchant Mariners Syndicate (IMMS), confirmed that some 22,000 seafarers have been stranded in the Gulf for nearly four months and have “suffered significant injuries”.

He said that threats and attacks on merchant ships increased significantly, “especially since the US naval blockade began, raising the level of maritime tension” and resulting in civilian casualties, including “seafarers, fishermen, dockers, pilots”.

“The immediate priority is the safe departure of all seafarers, with international cooperation, regardless of the political outcome,” Rezaei said. He noted that alongside the physical casualties, deaths, and disappearances of dozens of mariners, “the psychological damage and stress inflicted on seafarers and their families during the war will not be easily compensated”.

Looking ahead to the post-war period, Rezaei projected a phased recovery beginning with the formal signing of the memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on June 19, followed by a 30-day window in which “Iran commits to starting mine removal efforts”.

However, he said safety verifications could take 40 to 50 days before “large ships feel safe to transit again”, with high insurance costs and lingering distrust potentially delaying a full return for “up to eight months”.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, has issued a cautiously worded response to Trump’s announced memorandum with Iran.

“We look forward to learning the full details of the framework for these negotiations, including whether the deal preserves the sovereign right of our democratic ally Israel to respond to the security threats it confronts,” the group said.

It said the US Congress “will play a critical role in working with the administration throughout these negotiations and in reviewing the ultimate agreement”.

Any final deal should address Iran’s missile and drone programmes and its support for armed groups in the region, it added.

AIPAC has long advocated an aggressive approach to Iran and supported scrapping the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama, a position Trump later adopted and carried out.

Charlie Robertson, the chief economic adviser to the Equity Group, says the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will bring global relief, but the positive economic effects will not be felt immediately.

Robertson argued that the closure completely derailed a highly optimistic global outlook, noting that it was a “bullish story” before the Hormuz closure.

“We were going to get rate cuts. We were going to get investment pouring into lower-income countries. There’s been this shift of appetite for emerging markets and for frontier markets. Then in March, April and May, that just got blasted out of the water by the Strait of Hormuz closure,” he said.

The move increased pressure on central banks, which had to put plans to cut interest rates on hold.

So “the interest burden on governments was going to be higher, and that would have meant higher taxes for people,” he said. “And at the same time, as they were facing the prospect of higher taxes, higher interest rates, but they were also facing higher fuel prices” and in some cases, acute shortages.

“There’s been rationing in Sri Lanka. People have only been able to buy fuel every other day. So this shift is huge and it’s really important. It’s going to help political stability. It’s going to help growth. It’s going to help investment flows,” he added.

The White House says the proposed memorandum of understanding with Iran is only a framework agreement, not a final peace deal.

US officials say negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program will begin after the June 19 signing, with sanctions relief tied to inspections.

Ship-owners will not resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks, until they are confident that the Iran-US deal is “material”, the chief executive of Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) tells the UK’s Financial Times.

MOL, one of Japan’s big three shipping firms, has a fleet of more than 900 vessels, including bulk carriers, tankers and ferries. It operates the world’s largest fleet of tankers.

“What will have to come in place is not just a simple agreement between the relevant countries, but it has to be material and translated into the real situations in the Strait of Hormuz, so that shipping lines can make themselves comfortable to go through,” Jotaro Tamura told the newspaper before the announcement about the deal, under which the strait is expected to be opened.

He noted in the interview that there had been multiple false starts over the waterway’s reopening since the conflict erupted in late February.

“Given the experiences in the last couple of months, I think it’s reasonable to assume that it may take at least a couple of weeks or if not a month,” Tamura said.

MOL said on Monday that the deal being finalized had not changed Tamura’s view on the issue, according to the Financial Times.

With the final text of the MoU not publicly released yet, there are questions on what the document that Iran and the US are going to sign physically, at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday, is going to entail.

US Vice President Vance told NBC News that the deal means nuclear inspectors will be allowed back into Iran, and touted it as a core part of the agreement. “The [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 MoU, he said.

Vance also added that a date for the nuclear inspections could be hashed out on Friday.

“[Since] there is broad agreement on this, there isn’t a whole lot of disagreement on this particular issue; that should happen very quickly,” the vice president added.

Iranian officials, however, have previously said negotiations on the nuclear issue will be held after the signing of the initial agreement. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announcing the MoU on Monday, also said the “negotiations for a final agreement will be postponed until after the other party has fulfilled its obligations under the” initial deal.

An Iranian delegation led by central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati has departed for Moscow to discuss “monetary and banking relations between Iran and Russia”, according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency.

During the visit, the delegation is expected to focus on ways to “facilitate monetary exchanges”, boost cooperation between the two countries’ central banks and develop new mechanisms to bolster the overall volume of economic exchange, Fars reported.

Russia is one of Iran’s key allies as Tehran faces longstanding Western sanctions. Talks on sanctions relief between the US and Iran are expected in the coming months after the planned signing of their memorandum of understanding on Friday.

The Tehran Stock Exchange’s main benchmark index has climbed 116,000 points to reach 5.097 million points, nearly a 2.3 percent increase in a single trading session, according to Iranian media.

The figure marks “a new historical record” for the TEDPIX, according to the IRIB state broadcaster.

Tehran’s equal-weighted index, which tracks the performance of middle- and smaller-sized companies, also rose sharply, gaining 31,000 points to 1.368 million points, the Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran reopened its stock market last month after an 80-day closure due to the war. The exchange is not the core engine of economic financing in sanctions-hit Iran, but it has offered insight into the state of the country’s economy and allowed authorities to gauge investor trust and market liquidity.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the end of the war was declared yesterday, Tehran time, when the agreement with the US was finalized.

The memorandum of understanding will officially enter into force on Friday, he added.

Araghchi made the remarks as he spoke to diplomats in Tehran.

The Iranian foreign minister has stressed that ending the wars on Iran and Lebanon is interconnected and Tehran would view any continued occupation in Lebanon as a violation of the memorandum of understanding with the US.

He said any Israeli attack on Lebanon from now on would “never be accepted”.

“The continuation of the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory is a violation of the memorandum of understanding,” Araghchi said.

The Iranian foreign minister says upcoming US-Iran negotiations have been broken broken into two stages.

The first covered issues such as the status of the Strait of Hormuz, the US’s naval blockade, and reconstruction after US-Israeli bombardment of Iran’s infrastructure, Abbas Araghchi said.

A later stage of negotiations will cover nuclear issues and sanctions relief to be resolved in a final agreement, he added.

Abbas Araghchi’s warning that Tehran will view any continued Israeli occupation of Lebanon as a violation of the memorandum of understanding signals to Washington “the onus is on them to ensure they exert sufficient influence over the Israelis,” an analyst says.

“This is going to be one of the big challenges for the US going forward. There’s no clear indication in my mind that Trump has the sufficient influence on Netanyahu to rein in his worst impulses,” defence analyst Alex Alfirraz Scheers says.

While the US has options to influence Israeli action – such as withholding military or political aid – “whether Trump is willing to do that publicly remains to be seen”, said Scheers.

“But I think the Trump administration knows that the biggest threat to the negotiations going forward is Israeli military activity [in Lebanon],” he added.

Christian Bueger, director of Safe Seas, a network for maritime security research, says it is extremely ambiguous how the deal reached between the US and Iran will play out.

“It is definitely not as simple as it sounds. We now have a basic framework in place, but the major issues are still unresolved. And, perhaps most problematic, the conflict can flare up every single time one of the key issues is not resolved,” Bueger said.

The first order of business will be to get “the fertilizers and the oil flowing again” through the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

“Opening the Strait of Hormuz will not be easy. We will need the multinational military mission by the UK and France to get there as soon as possible. But a real solution will not be possible without Iran and Oman agreeing to a new framework for transit in the long run.”

Bueger suggested this may involve “some sort of service fees, certainly not tolls, [since] that is clearly illegal”.

There’s also the problem of sea mines floating through the strait, which “is not easily resolved”.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says when it comes to negotiations, Washington and Tel Aviv are one and the same.

He also warned any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued occupation of Lebanese ⁠territory from now ⁠on will constitute a violation of the interim agreement with the ⁠United States.

“In our view, ⁠the two parties ⁠to this memorandum are the US and Israel on one ‌side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other,” ‌said Araghchi.

Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi says negotiations between the US and Iran will begin after the memorandum of understanding is signed on Friday in Geneva.

Takht-Ravanchi was quoted as saying the Iranian team will be led by Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and US negotiators by Vice President JD Vance.

“Switzerland will be the venue for the signing, but the exact location has not yet been determined. The next round of negotiations will begin immediately after the signing,” said Takht-Ravanchi.

Alex Alvarez Scheers, a defence analyst, says it will be “very difficult” for the US to stop Israel from continuing its war on Lebanon.

“Benjamin Netanyahu sees this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rid Israel of the Hezbollah threat,” he said.

“I think that it is going to be very difficult for President Trump to exercise the kind of influence needed to stop Netanyahu from executing this war in Lebanon.”

Still, Scheers argued, this will not necessarily be “a deal-breaker” because “the US and Iran are both very clear-eyed about the need to have a permanent ceasefire.”

He said: “I think the bottom line for Iran here is that the United States can do more to rein in Benjamin Netanyahu. But the big question is what can they actually do.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the presidential palace near Beirut to discuss regional developments following the announcement of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Aoun’s office said in a statement that the leaders met to assess reactions to the MoU, and the “communications conducted with Lebanon in this regard”, while addressing “the ongoing preparations for holding the next round of Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations in Washington next week”.

The statement touted the MoU as “a positive factor in reducing tensions in the region, pushing toward peaceful solutions and ending the state of war”.

The leaders “affirmed the steadfastness of the Lebanese position in the Washington negotiations regarding the final cessation of firing, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the lands they occupy, the deployment of the Lebanese army to the international borders, the return of Lebanese prisoners, and the launch of the reconstruction campaign”, the statement noted.

The US president has said the announced deal with Iran “should be successful”.

Speaking in France, where he is attending the G7 summit, Trump said he expects negotiations to reach a planned second stage of the deal to “be actually easier”.

Continuing his remarks, Trump said the US would not be “investing any money in Iran”, calling such claims a “ridiculous” rumour.

Trump described the deal reached with Iran as “fair” and “good”.

“I didn’t want to attack them last week, but we had no choice,” said Trump, before praising the deal reached afterwards.

The US president has said he “didn’t like” Israel’s attack on Beirut “two hours” before the signing of the agreement with Iran.

“I let them know that. I didn’t like that, not at all.”

Asked whether the US-Iran deal can survive even if Israel attacks Lebanon, Trump said, “It can”.

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

Trump says without the US, “there’d be no Israel.”

He added: “Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did.”

The US president said he’s had a “great relationship” with Netanyahu but added that the Israeli prime minister “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.

Trump has appeared to criticise Israeli military action in Lebanon, saying it has been fighting Hezbollah “too long and too many people are being killed”.

“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody because there’s a lot of people in those apartment houses – and they’re not all Hezbollah,” the US president said.

“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it,” Trump added.

⁠Trump says the ⁠Iran deal specifies that Tehran will ⁠not possess a nuclear weapon.

“The only thing that really ‌matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and it says it ⁠loud and clear,” ⁠he told reporters at the G7 summit in France.

“All ⁠hell will rain ⁠down” on ⁠Iran if the Islamic Republic intends to acquire a ‌nuclear weapon, Trump added.

Iranian officials over the years have repeatedly said Iran has no plans to develop nuclear weapons and its nuclear activities remain focused on peaceful energy.

The US president says under the agreement being negotiated with Iran, it “can’t have a nuclear weapon” or “they get blown up”.

“This deal is a wall to a nuclear weapon,” said Trump, while describing the previous nuclear deal with Iran, reached under the administration of former US President Barack Obama, as “a road to a nuclear weapon”.

The US president has said he thinks Iran “has rational leadership now”, after US and Israeli attacks killed numerous Iranian officials early in the war.

He said the Iranian leaders who were “totally irrational” are “now gone”.

Highlights of the comments made by Trump and Sheikh Tamim to reporters on the sidelines of the summit:

• Trump argued that without the US, and more explicitly himself, “there’d be no Israel,” and that “Israel would be blown from the face of Earth,” if Iran had acquired a nuclear weapon. He repeated his claim that Tehran was “two weeks away” from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
• The US president said he’s had a “great relationship” with Netanyahu but added that the Israeli prime minister “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”, adding that he “didn’t like” the attack on Beirut, shortly before the deal was announced with Iran. “I let them know that. I didn’t like that, not at all.”
• Trump also praised Qatar’s “bravery”, saying: “We are very, very impressed with Qatar and the way they handled things. They were tough, they were strong.”
• For his part, the Qatari emir said the Iran-US agreement will result in positive outcomes for the region.
• “This is a very important deal, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but with this momentum – if we continue like that, Mr President – I think we can achieve and do great things in the region,” Sheikh Tamim said.
• Trump also reiterated that the war on Iran wiped out the leadership in Tehran, arguing that “Iran now has a rational leadership.”
• Referring to the situation in Lebanon, Trump said it was a “minor war”, adding that he “suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because … they’d do a better job”.

Upcoming negotiations this week over the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the US are unlikely to achieve a final resolution, an analyst says.

“I don’t think we’ll get to a firm status on the strait of foremost because that will be an important source of leverage for the Iranians going forward, but what going forward. But what we will see is some movement on the lifting of the double blockade,” said defense analyst Alex Alvarez Scheers.

“Now, the United States has said that it will lift the blockade, which would be I think a boon for the global economy but also for all the parties involved, and of course for regional powers,” he added.

“And then the onus will be on Iran to determine what it will do with its own blockade.”

The sequencing of negotiation will likely then move to the US releasing an initial payment of $12bn in seized Iranian funds.

“I think it’s really important to note in these sorts of diplomatic engagements you need to have concessions that need to be reciprocal, and I think what the Iranians will expect from the United States is some clarity on the state of the frozen assets of some $120bn worldwide.”

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says the Gulf state hopes the US-Iran agreement will get its liquefied natural gas (LNG) flowing again to countries in need.

“We hope the MoU will help open the navigation in Hormuz so that Qatar can continue supplying LNG,” he told a press conference.

Al-Ansari noted Qatar will be represented in Geneva on Friday for the formal signing of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States.

Qatar is a key mediator in the talks that brought the MOU to fruition.

The spokesperson voiced optimism that the negotiations between Iran and the US will end the conflict and achieve stability.

He also expressed hope that the signing of the deal on Friday will be the beginning of fruitful negotiations.

Some of the main points of contention now being discussed between the US and Iran include non-aggression pacts, non-state armed groups, and nuclear issues, Qatar says.

“We are on the right track now towards regional security. Obviously, there are a lot of challenges coming ahead, but let’s take this as a moment to enjoy some optimism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters in Doha.

“We are talking about various issues: the Strait of Hormuz, regional security and non-aggression, and good neighbourly relations between this region and Iran,” he added.

“We’re talking about, of course, the nuclear program but also other issues regarding proxies and missiles and other issues that have played prominent in the region for decades. These will not be resolved in mere days.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari says no Qatari funds have been paid under the reported framework of $300bn allocated for the reconstruction of Iran after the war.

“We cannot comment on the $300bn allocated for reconstruction,” he told a reporter when asked about the figure.

President Trump on Monday denounced media reports on the $300bn calling it “fake news”.

“I can’t say that we are returning to business as usual in our region with our neighbours… There is a lot of need for dialogue and for agreement over how to guarantee the security of our region,” said al-Ansari.

More lines from Trump who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France about the situation with Iran:

• Iran’s current leaders are “not radicalized” and want to “help their country”, said Trump, expressing hope that they will have a “good relationship” with the US.
• Once a final deal is reached, Iran’s economic prospects will be “good”, but Iran’s leaders need to “prove themselves first”, added the US president.
• “Whether they do well or poor – they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
• If no agreement was reached with Iran, the US had plans to take its attacks on Iran to a new level, Trump claimed. “If we did that, I believe they would have never ever been able to rebuild.”

The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) says “unconditional” passage of vessels through the key waterway is essential to ending the shock from soaring oil and gas prices to economies worldwide.

“The single most important solution to this problem is the fully and unconditionally opening up” of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, Fatih Birol told a news conference.

The tentative deal between Iran and the US calls for the strait to be opened, but Iranian officials have said tolls or “service fees” could be imposed for ships passing through it.

Oil prices have fallen more than 2 percent to a new three-month low as markets show optimism for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, following the preliminary deal between the US and Iran.

Brent crude futures were down $2.02, or 2.4 percent, at $81.15 a barrel, by 10:59 GMT. The benchmark fell to $80.89 per barrel, the lowest since March 4.

US West Texas Intermediate was down $2.22, or 2.8 percent, at $78.53 a barrel after dropping to $78.27 – the lowest since March 10.

Oil prices sank nearly 5 percent after President Trump announced the interim deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran yesterday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has addressed the US-Iran negotiations during a visit to Russia. Speaking at a joint news conference along with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Fidan said:

• The US-Iran agreement is a valuable diplomatic milestone.
• Turkey hopes the agreement will help create “a structural and permanent security architecture rather than a temporary calm”.
• Keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for free, uninterrupted transit is vital for regional stability and global energy security.
• It is essential to avoid rhetoric “that could poison the climate of peace”, as well as any possible attempts by Israel to “sabotage” the agreement.
• Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Syria are part of efforts to destabilise the region.

Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, has spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, about the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington.

The two officials discussed in particular the provision in the agreement concerning an end to the Israeli war on Lebanon, Iran’s IRIB broadcaster reported.

Berri and Ghalibaf stressed the need for the US, the parties guaranteeing the MOU, and the international community to compel Israel to end its military campaign, halt the destruction of Lebanese villages, respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and immediately withdraw from territories it has occupied, a statement said, according to Lebanon’s LBC International broadcaster.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the memorandum of understanding agreed with the US includes a clear provision for ending the war and military operations across all fronts.

In remarks quoted by the official IRNA news agency, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said the agreement included a mechanism that would be invoked in case of possible violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by Israel.

He added that the US had accepted, on behalf of its allies, to ensure an end to hostilities on all fronts in the war, including Lebanon.

The US president is giving more comments at the G7 meeting in France.

He said the Strait of Hormuz will be completely open by Friday.

Trump says the text of the memorandum of understanding reached with Iran will be released at some point in a formal setting.

“I’ll not only release it, I’ll probably have a press conference and read it … word by word so that the press covers it accurately,” Trump said. “It’s a very important document.”

Marc Weller, director of international law at Chatham House, says a collection of fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian authorities would be “unjustified”.

“They no longer call it ‘toll’ but a fee for facilitating navigation, pilotage and others,” he says.

“That would be a dangerous precedent that exists in sea lanes that are very difficult to navigate. The argument that Iran can charge fees to help its economy is ridiculous.”

Weller said some European countries, including France, have come ahead with plans to help ensure the shipping lane is accessible. But he noted that “it will take some time to restore confidence” among commercial shipping companies to sail the strait.

Asked about the prospects of other Arab and Middle Eastern states joining the Abraham Accords to establish ties with Israel, Trump said, “I’d love to have them.”

“I think they’re all going to come in now,” said the US president, claiming the situation with Iran had been an impediment.

Several states, including Saudi Arabia, have repeatedly ruled out normalizing ties with Israel until a Palestinian state is established.

Asked whether he’s open to sending the agreement with Iran to Congress for review, Trump said the idea hadn’t occurred to him but he “wouldn’t mind”.

“I never even thought about but I will, I will send it to Congress,” said Trump. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it? I like the idea. Send it to Congress, please.”

A rare public rift has emerged between Trump and Netanyahu over the US’s framework deal with Iran.

Trump, who has provided Israel with unprecedented political and military support, reportedly berated Netanyahu for attempting to derail the talks that led to the agreement.

Trump has said the US plans to extract enriched uranium buried under attacked sites in Iran, but that there is “no rush”.

“When we get it, we’ll destroy it,” said the US president.  We’re not looking to take it, we’re looking to destroy it. We’ve got plenty of it.

Naim Qassem, general secretary of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, has expressed the armed group’s gratitude towards Iran in a letter sent to parliament speaker Ghalibaf in Tehran.

Qassem noted Iran’s negotiations have compelled Israel to cease military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, “as the first and fundamental clause of the agreement between Iran and America”.

“We have always said that Iran has given Hezbollah, the resistance, and the Lebanese people everything and taken nothing in return. It has given us our choices, our strength to liberate our land, to heal the wounds of our society, and to help it,” he said.

“And now Iran is shedding blood, confronting the Zionist entity by shelling it in retaliation for its bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs, bearing the consequences that threaten war against it, along with immense sacrifices. I will say it loud and clear: Iran is an icon of pride and honor.”

Hezbollah has received ⁠assurances ⁠from its ally Iran that it will demand ⁠a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon ⁠in its next phase of talks with the United States.

Hezbollah’s media ‌relations office told Reuters news agency that a pull-out would be the result of, and not a precondition for, continuing ⁠talks between Tehran ⁠and Washington following the signing of a memorandum of understanding ⁠between the two countries on ⁠Friday.

The Lebanese group said there would be “no nuclear deal between ‌Iran and the United States unless the ‌Israelis ‌withdraw” from Lebanon.

Trump says a memorandum of understanding with Iran has been “all signed” electronically and the Strait of Hormuz will be “completely open” by Friday.

US officials said the agreement was signed by Trump, US Vice President JD Vance and main Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The details of the MoU between the US and Iran have not yet been made fully public, but officials on both sides have offered some indications of what may be included.

The office of President Joseph Aoun says he and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed preparations for the fifth round of talks with Israel scheduled to begin on June 22.

The pair view the US-Iran memorandum of understanding as “a positive factor in reducing the regional tensions and pushing towards peaceful solutions and an end to the state of war”, according to a statement.

They also reiterated that through the Washington talks, Lebanon continues to seek “a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the lands they occupy, the deployment of the Lebanese army up to the international border, the return of Lebanese prisoners and launching the reconstruction process”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday an end to the conflict would be incomplete “without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories it occupied in this war”.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made the remarks to Irish public broadcaster RTE.

“I think that maybe from the point of view of the original position of Netanyahu, it may be interpreted as a betrayal,” Olmert said.

The prime minister would be unlikely to say so publicly because he’s “entirely, completely dependent on the relations and support” of Donald Trump, Olmert said.

The former PM said he believed “the door is open” to an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, adding Israel should withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of negotiations.

“We don’t need any territory in the south of Lebanon,” he noted. “We should pull out completely from the south of Lebanon and make all the necessary adjustments for a territorial agreement, and we should try to make peace.”

Top Israeli officials have said the Israeli army will stay in the territory it occupies in southern Lebanon despite the US-Iran deal.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says it has been working with both Iran and the United States “in its own way” to secure a deal for further negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran.

China is ready to work with Pakistan to promote peace talks without pause, he added.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry has confirmed the US-Iran agreement’s official signing is expected to take place at the Burgenstock resort near Lucerne.

The site was “proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators as well as by the US and Iran”, the ministry told the AFP news agency.

Switzerland is a longtime hub for diplomatic efforts and peace treaties.

US-Israel attacks on Iran killed at least 1,265 people and wounded 2,800 others in the Iranian capital, a top Tehran official says.

Mehdi Babaei, head of the City Council Safety Committee, told Iran’s state-linked Student News Network about 50,000 residential units also sustained damage, the majority of which was minor.

Roughly 6,000 residents have been provided emergency accommodation, while 125 injured people remain hospitalized, he added.

Many questions remain as the US and Iran prepare to formally sign a memorandum of understanding later this week, says Paul Musgrave, associate professor at Georgetown University in Qatar.

“One of the biggest questions I have is whether Trump can keep Republicans on side to sign a deal that would be acceptable to the US, or whether he could have some sort of terms that are necessary to get a deal done but would be poisonous to the US at the domestic level,” Musgrave says.

Another big unknown is whether Netanyahu “will abide by the terms of a deal to which he’s not a party”, adding that including Lebanon in any deal is “something where Israel has significant leverage in terms of unilateral action”.

The largest concern is “what is going to come out of this deal”, said Musgrave, adding that what is not being said during negotiations is just as important as what is.

Trump hasn’t said he plans to go after Iran’s missile program and hasn’t talked about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, “which means that both sides may actually have given enough space that they can reach a deal.”

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar “it is foreseeable that, compared with the first stage, the second stage of negotiations will be more difficult” between Tehran and Washington.

The United Nations Security Council “should also play a greater role” in supporting these talks, according to a statement from Beijing’s Foreign Ministry.

“The current consensus is far from the final destination, rather it is a new starting point,” Wang said. “Achieving lasting peace in the Middle East and Gulf region still requires unremitting efforts from all parties.”

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has spoken with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Ghalibaf emphasised “the war must end on all fronts, including Lebanon” and Israel must fully withdraw its forces, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

As we’ve been reporting, Netanyahu said yesterday Israel will continue to occupy southern Lebanon.

Berri thanked Ghalibaf for his role in bringing the negotiations to an end and pushing for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.

In an unusual comment, President Trump has suggested Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa should deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as the Israeli campaign is causing too many casualties.

Praising al-Sharaa as doing an “amazing job”, Trump said at a G7 summit, “If Israel can’t do the job [against Hezbollah] without killing everyone else, then he will do the job. Syria will do the job.”

Al-Sharaa “is very good with Hezbollah, does not like them”, Trump said, adding the Syrian leader – an ex-rebel fighter who came to power after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, is “no boy scout”.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani says he discussed with Trump during the G7 summit ways to “enhance joint coordination regarding the latest developments in the regional situation”.

The Gulf leader said on X that he appreciates the US-Iran agreement on the memorandum of understanding, adding that he expressed his “appriciation to His Excellency [Trump], to the brothers in Pakistan, and to all the supporting partners for achieving this agreement”.

Sheikh Tamim said he hopes “the upcoming negotiations will witness further constructive dialogue and cooperation to support regional and international security and stability through peaceful and diplomatic solutions”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi have affirmed their two countries’ commitment to uphold international law regarding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Oman News Agency.

As the US and Iran prepare to sign a memorandum of understanding later this week, “the two ministers renewed their countries’ commitment to the rules of international law regarding the safe and free passage of maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz”, the agency reported.

During the phone call, the two leaders also expressed “their hope that the upcoming phase will witness serious and diligent efforts from all parties to ensure a supportive and sustainable environment for an effective and constructive political and diplomatic path, thereby preserving the region’s security and stability”.

Oil prices have dropped 4 percent to a new three-month low, reflecting market optimism over the official US-Iran deal signing scheduled for Friday.

Brent crude futures fell $3.29, or 4 percent, to $79.88 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $3.82, or 4.7 percent, to $76.93, Reuters reported.

Both crude benchmarks were trading around $65 to $70 a barrel before the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28.

We earlier wrote that prices had sunk more than 2 percent.

Germany ⁠is prepared to participate in helping to preserve ⁠peace in the Middle East following ⁠an interim deal between Iran and the US to end ‌the war in the region, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says.

“We have always said that we ⁠are ready to ⁠play our part. Indeed, we have already sent the ⁠first mine-clearing boats ⁠or ships to the ⁠region,” he said at the G7 summit.

Israel has violated the ceasefire in southern Lebanon 84 times since the US-Iran deal was announced on Sunday, according to the unified command of Iran’s army.

In a statement circulated on state media, the army warned that Israel “should expect a harsh response” if it “continues to commit crimes and massacre the oppressed people of Lebanon”.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has warned the US that any violation of the memorandum of understanding, due to be officially signed on Friday, will be met with a “crushing response”.

“Iranian resilience forced a strategic pivot: the U.S. came to the table on Iran’s terms,” said Azizi in a post on social media.

“Now, Washington must prove its commitment by ending the war against Lebanon and upholding every clause of the MOU. The era of unilateral imposition against Iranians is over.”

A long-standing US-Israeli alliance is being tested by Israeli actions in Lebanon as the US tries to finalise a deal with Iran, according to Mark Pfeifle, Republican strategist and ex-White House national security adviser.

Pfeifle said Israel’s challenge is that it “very much wants the pressure to continue on Iran”.

“Donald Trump wants the pressure to come up with a deal, and that’s where the challenge is right now,” he noted.

He said that the scale of US regional commitments, including billions in aid for allies such as Israel, combined with the failure to secure a peaceful solution in places like Lebanon and Gaza, means that “America’s patience [with Israel] … is growing shorter”.

“We still have a good relationship with Israel, but it’s not on the autopilot that it probably was in previous years,” Pfeifle concluded.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has emphasised that “the agreed-upon peace must now hold”.

“We are united on this as G7,” he wrote on X, adding that the US-Iran agreement is “an opportunity for the stability of the region and for the global economy”.

Merz earlier said Germany has already sent mine-clearing boats to the region ahead of an anticipated full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Senate has tried and failed again to advance a war powers resolution that would halt military action against Iran, in what has become an almost weekly effort to rein in the Trump administration as it floats a new plan to bring an end to the nearly four-month-long war.

Senators of both parties have been skeptical of the emerging deal with Iran and frustrated by the White House’s refusal to share details. They are expecting a briefing from the administration, but nothing has been scheduled before Friday’s planned deadline for Washington and Tehran to sign the agreement.

The Senate vote was 47-48 – four Republicans joined most Democrats in supporting the war powers resolution – falling short of the majority needed to advance it.

“Join me in putting a check on this president’s lawless warmongering,” said Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock, who proposed the resolution, in a speech before the vote.

“The time is always right to do what’s right,” he said.

The measure was the ninth time senators have tried to advance the measure. Trump launched the war without congressional approval, and lawmakers have grown concerned about the costs, strategy and endgame.

The ISNA news agency quoted Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, as saying that “after 100 days [of the US-Israel war on Iran], they did not achieve the results they wanted, and our country is negotiating and reaching an outcome from a position of equality”.

“The lifting of sanctions and investment can be the achievements of this agreement”, due to be officially signed on Friday.

Israel’s actions in Lebanon could still derail the deal between the US and Iran, according to Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to US President Ronald Reagan.

The analyst said that Israeli politics remain a wild card, stating that “Benjamin Netanyahu would prefer to stop the deal … he actually has an incentive to take military action”.

“Three days is a long time, frankly, in the Middle East, and in negotiations like this,” Bandow said.

He also said that Iran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has redefined regional leverage.

“What this tells Iran is that it actually has other weapons besides a nuclear weapon,” he noted, adding that Tehran “is going to want something as a compensation”.

“I think that’s clearly going to be sanctions relief, unfrozen money, maybe a transit fee,” Bandow said. “This has transformed the region, and Iran suddenly has a lot of leverage.”

The maritime tracking service TankerTrackers reports that two Iranian supertankers have successfully bypassed a two-month-old US Navy blockade, marking Iran’s first crude oil exports in two months.

According to the tracking group’s statement on X, automated identification system data, corroborated by satellite imagery on June 15, 2026, confirmed that the National Iranian Tanker Company’s (NITC) supertankers, Diona and Hero 2, exited the US Navy blockade perimeter “carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil between them”.

TankerTrackers also reported that a third NITC vessel, Stream, “is approaching the blockade line from the EEZ [exclusive economic zone] of Pakistan; where it spent the past 7 weeks waiting to enter Iran”.

Australia has ⁠relaxed its travel advice for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar ⁠and the United Arab Emirates after the US ⁠and Iran reached an interim deal to end the war.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the advisory moved to “reconsider your need to travel” from “do not travel”, but added that Australians ⁠should continue to ⁠delay non-essential travel to the Gulf states.

“While the security situation across ⁠the Middle East could deteriorate rapidly ⁠with little warning, ⁠the [government] has assessed current conditions in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the ‌UAE as appropriate to move to [the lower level],” ‌Wong said.

A new poll from Israel’s public broadcaster Kan has found low support for the agreement reached between the US and Iran.

Of 555 Israelis surveyed on Tuesday, just 18 percent said they supported the agreement, while 55 percent said they opposed it.

Seventy percent said they “still fear the Iranian threat”, even after the recent US-Israeli attacks, which reportedly extensively targeted Iran’s military infrastructure.

Forty percent of those surveyed said that they still think Trump will be “considered a ‘great friend of Israel’, even after the signing of the agreement”.

About 32 percent said they thought the US president’s “position in relation to Israel will change”.