Paris, France. The United States and Iran on Wednesday released the text of an interim agreement signed by President Donald Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian to end their war and extend a ceasefire by 60 days. Trump said the United States would resume attacks if Iran failed to honour its commitments under the deal.
Agreement released as talks continue
The 14-point memorandum extends a ceasefire announced in April, including in Lebanon, to allow both sides to negotiate a final truce over the coming 60 days. U.S. and Iranian officials said both presidents digitally signed the agreement in English and Farsi, and Iran’s foreign ministry said it took effect on Wednesday.
Trump comments at G7
Trump, attending the G7 with other leaders in France, said at a press conference that the United States would attack Iran again if it violated the agreement. He said, “We’re going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement,” and added that he wanted Iran to honour the deal.
Earlier, he said, “If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, OK?” Trump also said it would be “unfair” for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles, after previously saying they should be obliterated.
He said he hoped the negotiations would help bring peace to the Middle East and lower oil prices. He also described Iranians as “smart people.”
Iranian response
Iranian leaders did not address Trump’s new threats while marking the agreement’s release. They published photographs of what was described as the first agreement signed by both a U.S. and Iranian president since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told state television that, “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable.” He said the agreement included the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
Terms of the memorandum
According to the text released by both sides, the memorandum provides for an immediate end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. It also includes the full resumption of maritime traffic “with no charge” in the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, the waiving of U.S. sanctions on Iran, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, and a $300 billion investment fund for the country’s post-war reconstruction.
Conflict background
The United States and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, assassinating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, and military leaders on the first day, according to the article. The conflict then expanded into a regional war that has killed more than 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, raised energy prices, renewed inflationary pressures and prompted concerns about a major food supply crisis in developing countries.
Signing in France
Trump signed the agreement shortly before a grand dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles, where the treaty formally ending World War One was signed.
