A vague Iran deal leaves more questions than answers

WASHINGTON— The terms of a deal to end President Trump’s war with Iran remained a secret Monday as both sides declared victory, bringing a months-long conflict to an uncertain end.

The memorandum of understanding, which provides a rough framework for concluding the war, was signed digitally on Sunday and at a ceremony scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, U.S. officials said.

Trump hailed the document as a breakthrough after months of negotiations. However, the broad outlines of the agreement remained unclear even a day after the agreement was announced; because both sides have given conflicting public messages about the agreed upon issue.

Iran has said it will continue regulating traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic paradigm shift from the pre-war status quo that the White House has rejected. The two sides expressed disagreement over whether the status of Iran’s ballistic missile program should be addressed in future negotiations or whether Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon was part of the agreement.

And Trump administration officials dismissed Iran’s claims that the United States would immediately ease sanctions as a misleading “deflection.”

Hours later, another US official suggested that Iran might, in fact, provide some relief on the front.

“We are ready to release frozen funds and we are ready to lift sanctions,” a senior US official told reporters. “And if they make small gestures that show us that they are willing to honor their commitments, we will make some small gestures around that initially.

“We will know in the next two to three weeks whether these agreements will turn into a real agreement,” the official added.

Trump launched the war in February, citing Iran’s nuclear program as expanding after withdrawing from a previous nuclear deal negotiated by President Obama. That deal capped more than two years of intense diplomacy but ultimately failed under the weight of political criticism from Republicans led by Trump over the easing of sanctions on Tehran.

Trump administration officials said the new deal would include Iran committing not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons; it was an oath the Islamic Republic has made repeatedly, through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Obama-era treaty, and the late religious leader’s religious edict. However, the negotiation of implementation mechanisms to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities was left for another day.

Iran may ease sanctions

One Interview with CBS NewsVice President J.D. Vance acknowledged that Iran could receive significant sanctions relief and up to $300 billion in reconstruction funds if it complies with U.S. conditions, such as fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important commercial waterways.

“Our expectation is that the strait will be opened free of charge in the long term, and we will reach a similar result in these technical negotiations,” Vance said.

In a separate interview, he described the president’s policy as “extending an open hand” to Tehran.

“Hardliners of the Iranian system will overemphasize the benefits Iran has reaped, but underemphasize everything they have to give up and everything they have to provide to get those benefits,” he added.

Uncertainty across the region

News of peace came with a sense of surprise and uncertainty in a region that has suffered collateral damage over months of war.

Sunni Arab states, once hopeful that Iran would emerge from the war weakened, gave lukewarm support to a deal that could ultimately leave the fate of their oil exports to the whims of a bold enemy. And on the other side of the political aisle, Israeli leaders have expressed deep concern about the agreement in private conversations, warning that they will not be bound by a deal to which they are not party.

Israel’s decisions moving forward—especially in Lebanon—could decide whether the deal survives in the next 60 days, when Washington and Tehran plan to iron out more technical details.

Hours after news of the signing broke, a flood of cars filled the highway leading to South Lebanon; It was filled with displaced families desperate to control homes and villages they had not seen in more than 100 days.

They did this in defiance of Lebanese officials, who were urging people to stay where they were until the war in Lebanon was officially over; Although this is a secondary front in the larger US-Israeli war against Iran, it has seen staggering levels of destruction.

Nearly 3,800 people have been killed and nearly a quarter of the country’s 6 million people displaced in the more than three months since the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah attacked Israel. Israeli troops occupy more than 10 percent of Lebanon’s territory, leaving behind a trail of destruction that has devastated the south of the country.

‘Everything is gone’

None of this deterred Hassan Shareef from leaving where he was staying in Beirut at 7 a.m. and heading to Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon and a frequent target of Israeli attacks in recent weeks, to check out his tailoring business.

“I wasn’t afraid. I had to come. But what I saw would make you cry,” he said. “Everything is gone. My house, I can’t live in it. And the business is ruined.”

Herbalist Aqeel Khalaf set out early in the morning with his brother, son and daughter-in-law. They reached Nabatieh in two hours.

Still, it was less of a homecoming than Halaf had hoped: Israeli soldiers were still stationed near his village, several kilometers from where Nabatieh was located in the central market. Their home was tantalizingly close, but at that moment it might as well have been on the moon.

“It is difficult for me, but the Lebanese army told us that we cannot go yet. We have no choice,” Halaf said. “Maybe in 24 hours, once things are clear about the deal.”

He could at least check his shop in the central market, but he already knew there would be damage: The family regularly checked satellite images of the area and saw that the building had been hit about a week ago.

Standing in front of him, Khalaf saw how the wall of the adjacent building had collapsed to the ground floor, filling the shop with rubble and covering everything with a fine layer of gray dust. A nearby explosion had collapsed the roof.

“Nabatieh was hit very hard this time,” he said. He pointed to his son, who pulled out boxes of herbal medicine from under the rubble, and said he could still salvage something.

In the last two months, two ceasefires established during US-led talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, but without the participation of Hezbollah or Iran, were broken as quickly as they were announced. The ceasefire signed in November 2024 led Hezbollah to cease all attacks and Israel to continue its military operations in southern Lebanon.

This iteration of the ceasefire appeared to be more successful: On Monday, Hezbollah launched no missiles but announced an attack on Israeli forces to halt its advance; The Israeli army also mostly ceased fire, except for a series of shelling incidents and a drone attack on a car in the village of Kfar Tebnit, which injured a journalist and killed one person, according to Lebanese media.

Obstacles to a lasting peace

Meanwhile, Lebanese army units were deployed in parts of the south, preventing drivers from reaching areas near Israeli troops. The Lebanese army remained on the sidelines during the war, but 30 soldiers, including a general, have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2. At least 30 Israeli soldiers and one civilian contractor were killed in Hezbollah attacks.

Obstacles to a more lasting peace remain. Israeli officials insist on freedom of action against Hezbollah and will establish a so-called security zone in Lebanon indefinitely to protect Israel’s northern border. Hezbollah says it will respond to any attack and will continue to fight until Israel withdraws.

Although the ceasefire seems to be holding for now, Halaf, who is racing to reopen his Nabatieh shop after the ceasefire in 2024, was waiting this time. For now, he would buy as much stock as he could and open a store in Sidon or Beirut.

“We have to work and support our family. But this time the damage is too much. I will return when things get better,” he said. “And my house too. When I see it, I will build a tent on it and rebuild it, even if it is a pile of rubble.”

Wilner reported from Washington and Bulos from Nabatieh.