Trump announces signed US-Iran framework to reopen Hormuz, bar nuclear arms

Global oil markets and shipping lanes stand at the center of a new US-Iran framework that seeks to halt recent fighting and restore passage through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump stated on arrival at the G7 summit in France that the preliminary agreement had been signed electronically and that the strait was already partially open. He added that Iran had accepted limits preventing it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The one-and-a-half-page memorandum of understanding, signed digitally by Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, extends an existing ceasefire for 60 days. Formal signing is scheduled for Friday in Geneva. Technical talks on nuclear issues are to begin this week. Vance told multiple networks that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United States would help remove Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and that Iran had committed to verifiable restrictions on its nuclear program.

Financial provisions remain conditional. Vance said any sanctions relief or access to a proposed reconstruction fund would occur only after Iran meets performance benchmarks. He specified that the fund would be financed by Gulf states rather than the United States. Trump separately labeled reports of direct US payments to Iran as fake news. Iranian state media had cited figures of $24 billion in asset releases and a $300 billion investment fund; administration officials rejected the $24 billion claim as absent from the text.

Reactions inside the US government and among allies reveal divisions. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senators Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham said they had not received detailed briefings and wanted the full text before assessing compliance mechanisms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces would remain in security zones in Lebanon and retain the right to act against threats, while Iran’s foreign minister warned that continued Israeli operations would violate the interim understanding. Britain, Germany, France, and Italy issued a joint statement offering sanctions relief only in exchange for clear, verifiable nuclear steps.

The agreement leaves several issues for later negotiation, including the precise terms of Hormuz access, disposal of enriched uranium, and limits on Iranian support for regional proxies. No final document has been released, and both sides continue to describe the same text in differing terms to their domestic audiences.