U.S. and Iranian officials said Sunday they had agreed on a peace framework for a deal to end their war, end the U.S. blockade of Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz, possibly lowering energy prices once oil supplies through the vital waterway are restored.
“The deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is done,” US President Donald Trump tweeted on his Truth Social platform at around 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, shortly after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the deal early Monday local time in Pakistan, which brokered the deal.
The agreement will be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland, Sharif wrote.
The exact terms of the deal were not immediately known. Sharif said the pact calls for an “immediate and final cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Lebanon has been a sticking point in the talks, with Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group ignoring calls from Trump and others to end attacks on each other in recent weeks.
After intense negotiations, we are pleased to announce that a peace agreement between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been ACHIEVED. Both sides announced an immediate and final cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in…
Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea route for global energy supplies that Iran effectively closed for months, would be opened “for free” and that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would also end.
“Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump wrote.
Oil prices fell on the news. Brent crude futures fell four percent in early trading on Monday, while US West Texas Intermediate fell more than 4.6 percent.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said a broader agreement would be reached within a 60-day ceasefire period, including the lifting of sanctions. The fate of Iran’s nuclear program will also be discussed at the talks, sources told Reuters earlier.
US President Donald Trump and officials in Tehran believe a peace deal is close, but nothing has been signed. After several other promising announcements came to nothing, Iranians remain sceptical. CBC News reports from Iran.
Thousands of people have been killed, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, since US and Israeli forces first attacked Iran on February 28. Iran has struck Israel and the Gulf states, where US bases are located, and has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up global energy prices. American forces responded by blocking Iranian ports.
There was no immediate reaction to the statement from Israel, which said it was not a party to the planned US-Iran deal.
The Iran war has become a political liability for Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress, and opinion polls show Americans are deeply disappointed by rising gas prices ahead of November’s midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
Israeli attack
The agreement was signed despite Israel’s strike on Lebanon on Sunday, which drew criticism from both Iran and Trump.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a social media post on X that Israel’s latest attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel said was aimed at Hezbollah, showed that the US lacked the “will and ability to fulfill its commitments.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it blamed the US for the attack. Iran has warned of a “strong response” and its top joint military command has said its “trigger finger” is ready to fire at the “heart of the enemy”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier Sunday, Trump said: “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, especially on a special day when we are so close to a peace deal with Iran.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has split with Trump over US demands that Israel end its military operations in Lebanon to allow the US to reach a deal with Iran.
Fox News, citing an unidentified diplomat involved in the talks, said Israel was striking back at the complex efforts to reach a US-Iran deal, calling them an attempt to sabotage the effort.
Israel did not respond to these statements. He said he would maintain freedom of operations in Lebanon, while Iran has made a full ceasefire there a key component of its demands.
Trump briefed Netanyahu on the progress of the peace deal during a telephone conversation on Sunday, Israel’s N12 reported, citing a senior official.
Terms of the transaction
A senior Iranian official earlier told Reuters that under the terms of the draft deal, the US would agree to release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets and Iran would agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons. The official said Iran had agreed to maintain the nuclear status quo, including refusing to enrich uranium or expand its nuclear facilities, until a final deal was reached.
A US official, speaking ahead of the deal’s announcement, said the deal would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and the destruction and disposal of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
A senior Iranian official said the draft deal would allow Iran, which denies it is seeking a nuclear bomb, to dilute the country’s enriched uranium.
Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning as part of efforts to finalize the deal, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
At pro-government rallies across Iran on Saturday night, residents and news agencies reported that hardliners opposed to the framework agreement were vocal in their displeasure.
A resident of the northeastern city of Mashhad told Reuters that some protesters chanted “Death to compromise,” referring to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.