The agreement is set to be signed in Switzerland on Friday; oil prices drop and markets rally in Asia
TEHRAN — Iran has confirmed it has reached a deal with the US to end fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, as US President Donald Trump announced an end to Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports and said the Strait will reopen on Friday when the agreement is signed in Switzerland.
Trump announced the agreement on Truth Social on Sunday, insisting that this will now pave the way for further talks once the memorandum of understanding is signed on June 19.
He said the deal will end months of war between the United States, Israel and Iran and will mean an immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz once the signing is complete, given the fact that there still needs to be demining of the strait.
[He said] this will also result in the end of the US naval blockade and will allow oil to flow through the strait once again.
Now, the US president also said that the strait will become completely toll-free. And speaking to reporters, he also commented on Israel’s efforts to derail diplomacy with its attack on Lebanon, saying that the Israeli prime minister, in his view, is a “very difficult guy”.
Still, the US president is getting a lot of praise from members of his own Republican Party in the US Congress, who are calling the agreement historic and claiming that it will bring about global stability and American security. But there are some Republicans, particularly Senator Lindsey Graham, who are being more cautious. He has said that he is somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American team is claiming.
Also read: Iran-US Deal: Key Takeaways
Trump slammed Netanyahu for nearly derailing the deal and said the Israeli leader “should be very thankful” for the US diplomatic efforts.
All-round Praise
Lebanon’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nabih Berri, who is also the leader of the Amal Movement, praised the deal and thanked the two countries for including Lebanon in it.
In a statement posted on the official Page of the Amal Movement, Berri “extended his thanks and appreciation to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America and their leadership for their adherence and insistence on including in the agreed-upon memorandum a fundamental and binding provision to halt the Israeli aggression on all of Lebanon”.
He added that it hopes this preserves Lebanon’s “sovereignty over its entire territory … and avoids falling into the trap set by the Israeli political echelon under Netanyahu’s leadership”.
Berri also commended the contributions of Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in reaching the agreement, which, he said, “establishes the foundations of security and stability in the region, including Lebanon”.
Kuwait expressed a “warm welcome” to the deal
It also commended the role played by Pakistan and Qatar in contributing “to bridging viewpoints and creating the conditions for reaching this important understanding”.
A statement by its Foreign Ministry on X said Kuwait hopes the deal leads to “mutual respect and the strengthening of trust, non-interference in the internal affairs of states, refraining from the use of force, … ceasing support for proxies … and ensuring the continued freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.
“The ministry called on all parties to engage in the forthcoming negotiations with a positive and constructive spirit,” it added.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker welcomed the agreement in a post on X.
“I call on all parties to ensure the swift and full implementation of the memorandum, including the permanent opening of the Strait of Hormuz to guarantee freedom of navigation in accordance with international law,” he said.
Also read: US-Iran Peace Deal: An Overview
Stocker said the deal opens a window for negotiations towards “a more stable and secure” Middle East.
“This includes addressing Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes,” he said. “The stakes are high not only for the region but for all of us.”
In London, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a “very significant breakthrough” and expressed hope that the initial deal could lead to “enduring peace that we all want to see”.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry also welcomed the deal, saying it could be a “turning point” for peace in the region.
“Egypt hopes that this agreement will constitute a major turning point toward strengthening mutual trust, laying new foundations for cooperation, creating a supportive environment for peace and advancing diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing remaining regional issues,” it said.
Deemed a Victory in Tehran
It is a decisive moment, and Tehran is presenting it as a political outcome achieved by military resilience and defiance. At the same time, Tehran is saying this is the beginning of a long-lasting and complicated negotiation period.
Among Iranians, there’s a growing sense of both optimism and scepticism, a mixture of hope and relief.
There have been years of sanctions and economic pressure from the Americans, and now this naval blockade of maritime shipping has affected ordinary people. So many say they are happy and hope it will bring some relief.
At the same time, they say we are sceptical about what comes next because we have learned the biggest lesson from the US breaching its commitments, and there are changes in the political arena.
The Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters praised the “resilient and proud people of Iran, and their brave and courageous sons in the country’s powerful armed forces”.
The military “proved with strength that the humiliated American and Zionist enemies have no choice but to accept defeat and surrender”. — Agencies
