US–Iran War MOU Signed

In a historic diplomatic breakthrough, US President Donald Trump and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf electronically signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding on June 17, 2026, officially extending the US–Iran ceasefire for 60 days and committing both sides to reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. Trump signed the document at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, where he was attending the G7 Summit. 'It's signed,' Trump told reporters as he left. 'I signed it in Versailles. Just signed it.'

The agreement — formally called the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding — was brokered primarily by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with support from Qatari mediators. On June 14, Sharif posted on X that a peace deal had been 'REACHED,' while Trump simultaneously announced on Truth Social that he was authorizing the 'toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz' and the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade, in place since April 13, had been one of the most severe restrictions on global maritime trade in decades.

The 14-point MOU covers: an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts including Lebanon; Iran's commitment to allow commercial vessels to transit the strait toll-free for the first 60 days; demining of the strait by Iran within 30 days; US issuance of sanctions waivers for Iranian crude oil and petroleum products; the release of frozen Iranian financial assets; and a US commitment to develop a reconstruction plan worth at least $300 billion for Iran. The MOU also sets out a 'minimum methodology' for neutralizing Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium — a key US demand that Iranian officials have acknowledged in general terms but have not formally accepted.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed the agreement had gone into effect, saying: 'Now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement.' Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi noted that some Iranian revisions to the draft text were accepted following renewed Israeli strikes in Lebanon on June 14, which had threatened to derail the deal at the last moment. A planned in-person signing ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland was cancelled; instead, negotiations teams from both sides converged on the Swiss city for technical talks.

Significant challenges remain. Iran has insisted that it will manage the Strait of Hormuz alongside Oman and intends to 'charge fees for services' there once the 60-day toll-free window expires — a position that contradicts Trump's pledge of a 'permanently toll-free' strait. Netanyahu rejected the Lebanon ceasefire provisions, asserting the MOU 'does not include Lebanon.' Hezbollah announced a halt to attacks, but Israel launched fresh strikes in Beirut hours later. US officials privately described the MOU as a 'political document' supplemented by back-channel commitments from Iran on its nuclear program that were not captured in the released text.

Global markets responded positively. Oil prices fell sharply on the news, and shipping stocks rose as investors anticipated the reopening of a waterway that carries approximately 20–25% of the world's traded oil and LNG. The strait had been largely closed since February 28, 2026, when the US–Israel air campaign against Iran began and Iran retaliated by shutting the chokepoint and laying sea mines.