Tentative Deal Reached To End Iran War And Trump Orders Stop To The U.S. Naval Blockade

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement early Monday on opening a nuclear power plant. Strait of Hormuz and further extension of the shaky ceasefire Iran warThis potentially allows much-needed oil and natural gas to reach the global market.

Details agreement It was not released immediately, and Iran signaled that implementation would not begin until it was signed; Key mediator Pakistan said the signing would take place in Switzerland on Friday. This could provide a way to end a war that has left thousands dead in the Middle East, including top leaders of the Iranian theocracy. historic energy crisis.

But the war-related memorandum was already facing intense difficulties. Israel’s ongoing hostilities with the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah Negotiations were nearly derailed in Lebanon, where Israel bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the deal gives just 60 days to decide what to do about Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile and atomic program. It took years for this issue to be resolved in the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers in 2015. US President Donald Trump By unilaterally withdrawing the United States from this agreement in his first term, he paved the way for tensions that resulted in war.

“Congratulations to you all!” While celebrating, Trump wrote on social media: Celebrated his 80th birthday with a UFC cage match on Sunday Fight in the White House.

He added: “I authorize the free opening of the Strait of Hormuz and also authorize the immediate lifting of the US Navy blockade imposed in retaliation for Iran’s control of the critical waterway.”

However, he soon took precautions by saying that the strait would not be opened until it was signed on Friday.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the agreement on state television but said Iran would not begin implementing the agreement until it was signed on Friday. He said the agreement followed talks with Qatar, another mediator.

Israel, which insists on freely pursuing Hezbollah as it invades southern Lebanon and expands military operations into areas where its forces have not been present in a quarter-century, did not immediately comment. Israel joined the USA The war begins on February 28.

Comparative Brent crude oil It fell more than $4 a barrel as Asian stock markets rebounded.

Pakistan first announced the agreement, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stating that “both sides have declared an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.” It remains unclear whether Israel, which trusts the USA but has started a war against its enemies since then, has started a war against its enemies since then. Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023accepted this condition.

He added that mediators will facilitate meetings this week to “lay the groundwork for technical talks.”

Speaking earlier on Sunday, two senior Pakistani officials said broader talks on key issues such as Iran’s nuclear program would continue for the next 60 days because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. If the parties cannot reach a solution within this period, the period may be extended.

Iranian state television quoted the Supreme National Security Council secretariat as saying that the war on all fronts “will end immediately and permanently starting tonight” but that the US blockade “will be ended immediately and completely.”

An official providing information about the developments, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, said that Qatari mediators left Tehran after 17 hours of talks. Separate preparatory meetings will be held with both sides in Doha this week, the official said.

It was not clear Friday who from Iran would sign the agreement. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News that the White House was still trying to figure out who would attend: “I definitely plan to be there, but it’s possible the president himself could be there.”

But concern was already visible among Republicans in the United States. Among them was U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who described Vance as “the architect of the deal.”

“I am concerned that Iran’s view of the deal differs from what the American negotiating team claims,” Graham wrote online.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Congress would oversee any deal with Iran.

“We have seen time and time again that war cannot change the Iranian regime,” he said.

Iran’s religious leader was killed in the first attack of the war. Ayatollah Ali Khameneiand Khamenei’s son Ayatollah Mojtaba KhameneiHe is now the supreme leader. He had not been seen in public since the beginning of the war, but his approval was required for Iran to sign the agreement.

There was significant friction within Iran in the hours before the announcement, as the government warned that divisions within the country over the deal were weakening its negotiating position.

The deal would likely return the region to its pre-war state, but with Iran having proven its ability to disrupt shipping across the strait. The waterway is vital for transporting significant volumes of oil, natural gas and related products such as fertiliser, and its effective closure has shaken the global economy.

Even if there is an agreement, it will take months oil and gas resources Energy experts said it would flow freely enough to meet the world’s needs because shipping and insurance companies wanted to make sure the deal would go ahead.

Tehran also still has a ballistic missile arsenal and enough enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons if it chooses to pursue them.

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful and has made no public commitment to give up enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried beneath three nuclear facilities badly damaged in U.S. strikes last year.

The United States demanded that enriched uranium be removed from Iran as part of the deal. Russia offered to buy it. But Iran insists it wants to keep the uranium.

Frankel reported from Jerusalem, Sewell from Beirut and Weissert from Washington. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Cathy Bussewitz in New York and Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, contributed to this report.