Trump signs USA-Iran deal
We can bring you a bit more information now about how the so-called memorandum of understanding has come into effect.
US President Donald Trump attended a post-G7 dinner at the Palace of Versailles in France on Wednesday night.
Also on Wednesday night, Trump signed the Iran document, the White House tells the BBC. It has also been signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the White House.
The signing by the two leaders comes after Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and US Vice-President JD Vance electronically signed the agreement on Sunday, the White House explains.
Earlier, both Trump and Iranian officials indicated that there would be a formal signing ceremony sometime later this week. It’s unclear whether that will still go ahead now.
Senior US officials have revealed the contents of the memorandum of understanding between the Trump administration and Iran ahead of an expected signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday.
The key parts of the agreement include Iran’s inability to ever have a nuclear weapon; traffic returning to the Strait of Hormuz, which will remain toll-free for at least 60 days; the lifting of US sanctions; and an end to hostilities, including in Lebanon.
The details were revealed while Trump spoke at the G7 summit in France, where he said the US would “bomb the hell” out of Iran if it didn’t abide by the terms of the deal.
In a later retort, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and key negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who agreed the deal with the Trump administration, told state media his distrust of the US remained, and Iran’s “finger is on the trigger”.
Our Washington correspondent writes the agreement leaves all the key questions around Iran’s nuclear programme to the final negotiations.
Arriving in Paris ahead of a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at Versailles, Trump said the allotted 60-day negotiation period was not a hard deadline for Iran.
As for Friday, while US Vice-President JD Vance was originally slated to be present at the ceremony, Trump hinted that he “might” stick around.
