Full story
Deal to reopen Hormuz
The United States and Iran signed an agreement expected to open the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump saying the strait would reopen after the agreement is signed on Friday and that the U.S. is lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports.
“Senior administration officials said Monday that the Strait of Hormuz should be fully open by Friday”
The New York Times reported that “the specific terms of the deal have not been released,” while CNN said “The full text has not yet been released” and that the agreement would take effect on Friday.
NBC News said a signing ceremony is set for Friday in Switzerland, with mediator Pakistan confirming the venue, and it described the deal as aimed at ending the war and lifting the American naval blockade.
The AP reported that the memorandum of understanding would extend a shaky ceasefire and that Iran signaled implementation would not start until the signing, with Pakistan saying it would occur Friday in Switzerland.
In the same AP account, Trump wrote, “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” and authorized the “immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade.”
Conflicting next steps
As the deal moved toward a Friday signing, the sources described diverging accounts of what comes next, with CNN saying Iran’s deputy foreign minister claimed negotiations would begin only once the U.S. releases billions in frozen funds, while “an American official has rejected the claim.”
ABC News quoted a senior administration official saying the memorandum of understanding ensured the Strait of Hormuz be “toll-free for 60 days,” and projected traffic could rise from “as much as 25 ships through a day” to “maybe 40 to 50 pretty quickly.”
The New York Times said American and Iranian officials continued to make “conflicting statements about its terms,” and it reported that the agreement’s immediate scope focused on ending military attacks and allowing traffic to resume through the strait.
NBC News said the memorandum of understanding leaves key issues unresolved, giving the two sides 60 days to resolve what to do about Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its nuclear program, according to Iranian state media.
The Guardian reported that the deal included a ceasefire in Lebanon but did not provide for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from areas they occupied, and it quoted Netanyahu saying Israeli forces will remain “for as long as necessary.”
What’s at stake
The sources framed the agreement as a limited step that defers unresolved issues, with the BBC describing the memorandum of understanding as extending the ceasefire and lifting the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports while “defers the thorniest issues to future negotiations.”
“Bowen: Iran deal ends Trump's war that revealed limit of US dominance The war has been President Donald Trump's worst foreign policy blunder – so far”
The BBC also said the full text has not been published yet and that the agenda would include “the future of Iran's nuclear programme and the level of sanctions relief it will get in return for concessions.”
NBC News reported that the deal gives 60 days to resolve what to do about Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its nuclear program, and it tied the timeline to ongoing tensions around Lebanon and Israel’s continued presence.
The Guardian added that Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam said diplomatic efforts with the U.S. were continuing to achieve a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from territory in southern Lebanon, even as Netanyahu said Israeli forces would remain in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria for as long as necessary.
In the New York Times, Abbas Araghchi said negotiations would grapple with easing American economic sanctions against Iran and limiting Tehran’s nuclear program, and he warned that talks would be made more difficult by “a history of broken promises.”
