A fragile truce in the Middle East is set to be tested almost immediately, with Iran and the United States preparing to open a new round of talks on Friday in Switzerland aimed at turning an interim accord into a final peace agreement, Iran’s foreign minister said.
Abbas Araghchi also warned that any Israeli strike on Lebanon — or any continued Israeli presence on Lebanese territory from this point — would amount to a breach of the interim agreement reached with the United States.
“In our view, the two parties to this memorandum are the US and Israel on one side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other,” he said.
“This is perhaps the most important issue in the memorandum – the declaration of an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Even as leaders hailed the interim deal, uncertainty continued to swirl. Shipping companies said it could take weeks for confidence to rebuild after any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and major questions about the pact’s scope and enforcement remained unresolved.
US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that the United States and Iran had signed a preliminary agreement to end the conflict, though key details have not yet been released.
The interim agreement would extend a fragile ceasefire first announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.
In the next stage of negotiations, diplomats are expected to tackle some of the most contentious topics, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
However, two other issues that Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited in justifying the war — ending Iran’s backing for regional armed proxies and limiting its missile programme — are not believed to be on the agenda for those talks.
“The deal’s all signed,” Mr Trump said after he arrived in France for a summit of the G7 group of big economies.
He said Vice President JD Vance would attend a formal signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday.
‘Very general document’
Oil prices dropped yesterday to their lowest point since 10 March, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow channel between Iran and Oman — severed one-fifth of global oil trade.
Prices steadied this morning, signalling a more cautious mood: Brent crude futures LCOc1 slipped 0.3% to $82.96 a barrel during Asian trading hours.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that the interim agreement marked an “important step” toward ending the fighting, while stressing that a final deal securing a lasting truce “has yet to take shape.”
Mr Vance, speaking to CNN, described the signed memorandum as a “very general document.” US officials said more information would be published over the next two days.
According to Mr Vance, the text includes “a very significant sanctions relief package” for Iran. He later told Fox News that Mr Trump could choose to release the agreement before Friday.
US and Iranian officials have said the arrangement could ultimately bring major economic gains for Iran, including sanctions relief, the unfreezing of foreign assets, and the creation of a $300 billion reconstruction fund financed by neighbouring Gulf states, which host US military bases.
But US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran would need to meet US demands never to build a nuclear weapon and to end support for militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to receive those benefits.
Iranian officials, who have long denied seeking a nuclear weapon, argue they have conceded little, saying the interim deal mainly commits Iran to restarting diplomatic discussions on its uranium enrichment programme — talks that were derailed by the war.
Rebuilding confidence
Even if the latest agreement loosens Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, shipping executives say commerce will not snap back overnight. Restoring the prewar status quo, they argue, will not be enough until vessels are convinced they can pass safely.
Iran has suggested it will continue to exercise control of the passage alongside Oman. The United States has said the strait will be open toll-free for 60 days and that it expects that provision to be written into any final agreement.
Models of missiles and drones are seen in front of a photograph of Iran’s late supreme leader
Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post that oil tankers were beginning to leave the strait, “going along the Southern ‘Highway,’ which is totally safe, secure, and pristine”.
Meanwhile, hostilities involving US ally Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon — a conflict that has displaced 1.2 million people — remain a major fault line.
Iran says the interim agreement requires a complete halt to fighting there. Mr Netanyahu, however, said Israel would maintain forces in southern Lebanon and keep the right to respond to Hezbollah attacks.
“Iran wanted us to withdraw from it, but I stood firm,” he said. Israel has not directly participated in the peace talks with Iran.
A US official said an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, which it invaded in March after Hezbollah joined the war, was not a condition of the deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Israeli attacks must stop immediately.
