Versailles, France. The United States and Iran on Wednesday released the text of an interim agreement signed by their presidents to end their war, while U.S. President Donald Trump warned that attacks could resume if Iran failed to honour its commitments. The agreement extends a ceasefire by 60 days as both sides pursue a permanent truce.
Trump comments at G7
Trump, attending the G7 with other leaders in France, said at a press conference that the United States would resume attacks if Iran 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, Trump 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?” He also said it would be “unfair” for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles, withdrawing at least one of his previously stated rationales for attacking Iran after earlier vowing to obliterate them.
Trump described Iranians as “smart people” as U.S. and Iranian negotiators work on a permanent truce over the coming 60 days. He said he hoped the process would bring peace to the Middle East and lower oil prices.
Iranian response and agreement details
Iran’s leaders did not address the new threats and instead marked the moment by releasing photographs of what is believed to be 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: “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable.” He was referring to the agreement, which includes the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
The 14-point agreement extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days, including in Lebanon, to allow negotiations on a final truce. U.S. and Iranian officials said both Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian digitally signed the memorandum in English and Farsi, and Iran’s foreign ministry said the agreement was already in effect as of Wednesday.
War background and terms of the memorandum
The United States and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, assassinating the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and military leaders on the first day. The conflict quickly expanded into a regional war that has killed more than 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, while driving up energy prices, renewing inflationary pressures and raising concerns about a major food supply crisis in developing countries.
Trump signed the memorandum shortly before a grand dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles, the site of the treaty that formally ended World War One.
According to the text, the memorandum provides for an immediate end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, 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 its assets, and a $300 billion investment fund for the Islamic Republic’s post-war reconstruction.