Trump and Iran reach tentative deal to end war, reopen Hormuz

Vance said today that the agreement reached with Iran yesterday has not led to the transfer of any funds to the Islamic Republic.

"There hasn’t been a single dollar of sanctions relief or unfrozen assets, either from the United States or any of our allies in the Gulf," Vance told CNN host Jake Tapper on Monday. "I’ve seen some misreporting about that. I don’t know where it comes from."

Vance said that there could be sanctions relief for Iran if it meets obligations under the agreement.

"To be very clear, this agreement contemplates a very significant sanctions relief package for the Iranian people that transforms how they interact with the world and with the region," he said. "But they only get that benefit if they meet their obligations under the agreement."

Vance also noted that the document is only about one and a half pages.

"So, it is a, a very general document, but this has been very much part of the conversations that we’ve had with the Iranians, and on a number of issues we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase," he said.

Zero tankers pass through Strait of Hormuz Monday evening

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Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained stalled Monday evening, according to data from the region.

The vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic showed that no tankers passed through the strait since early Monday morning, despite the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran on Sunday.

Since its announcement, only four tankers have successfully transited the strait, as well as several cargo ships and smaller crafts.

One Iranian tanker, the Dalia, appears to have just crossed into the strait early Tuesday morning from Chabahar in southern Iran. Past records show the ship has transited the strait five times since the start of the war, often turning off its transponder for the entirety of its voyages between ports. The tanker is currently empty according to its own reports.

The majority of tankers remain anchored at sea dozens of miles away from the strait, in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.

The end of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran is now looking closer than ever with a new agreement that has reportedly been “digitally” signed by both countries. 

There are few concrete details about the current agreement but the next round of negotiations will focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the lifting of U.S. sanctions, and the possible release of frozen Iranian assets.

The agreement is already facing criticism from many, including former President Barack Obama, for closely resembling the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump pulled out of just three years later. 

“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place and had worked for, for a long stretch of time before we, the United States, pulled out of it,” Obama said in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America."

Netanyahu said he will run for prime minister of Israel again in the next election scheduled for October.

“I am going to run in the next election, and I intend to win," he said at a press conference today.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social tonight that the U.S. has not agreed to pay Iran $300 million.

"Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon! Also, the story that the U.S. is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!! President DJT," Trump wrote in the post.

Netanyahu said today that he will "do what is necessary" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"I have dedicated most of my life to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons," he said during a press conference today. "We will do what is necessary, and I am not limiting myself in any way regarding this objective — Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

Netanyahu said that he will be adding 350 billion shekels to Israel’s defense budget.

The leaders of multiple countries released a joint statement today welcoming the U.S. and Iran finally agreeing to a memorandum of understanding that will end the war.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland and Portugal stressed that the terms of the agreement, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, should be implemented and offered their support.

The leaders also reiterated their stance that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon, and offered to lift sanctions on the country “in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme.”

“We also reaffirm our full support to the stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon and the importance of a robust ceasefire,” the leaders said in the statement.

Netanyahu said at a press conference today that Israel will keep its presence in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria "for as long as necessary."

"We will remain in these security zones for as long as necessary to defend our country," Netanyahu said.

He added, "Israel will not allow terrorist organizations to camp on our borders, dig terror tunnels into our territory, and prepare massacres near our citizens."

Iran has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon must stop as part of the agreement with the U.S. that was announced yesterday. Israel struck Lebanon today despite the deal in a move that was criticized by both Trump and Tehran.

Israel has also been criticized by many organizations, including the United Nations, for its continued actions in Gaza and the West Bank. In remarks today, U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk criticized Israel for its killing of Palestinians in the occupied territories, as well as land annexation in the West Bank.

The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted rockets launched by Hezbollah towards their troops in southern Lebanon a short while ago.

The IDF also said Hezbollah "launched an anti-tank missile and multiple mortar shells" at troops in southern Lebanon in "several incidents" earlier today.

The IDF said it also conducted at least four separate strikes in southern Lebanon after they identified "terrorists traveling in vehicles who approached" soldiers, "posing an imminent threat."

Both Trump and Iran have criticized Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon today, with Iran insisting that attacks on Lebanon must stop as part of the finalized peace deal.

Israel has maintained that it will not withdraw from southern Lebanon despite the peace deal.

The price of U.S. crude oil closed down 4.8% to $80.75 per barrel, while international Brent crude closed down 4.7% to $83.17 per barrel. For both benchmarks, those closing prices were their lowest since the first week of March, just days after the war with Iran was launched.

The only moderate moves lower in oil speak to skepticism in markets about how fast oil can really get flowing again from the Middle East. Since the start of the year, oil prices remain up 40%.

Stocks also rose, with the S&P 500 ending up 1.65% and the Nasdaq Composite closing higher by 3%. Both fell short of setting new records but the Dow did set a new record high, and closed higher by 468 points.

Netanyahu said at a press conference today that he does not always see 'eye to eye' with Trump.

“Trump and I have known each other for many years. Many times we see things eye to eye, and sometimes we do not," he said. "I am responsible for Israel’s security interests and must act without being inflammatory. This requires a great deal of wisdom and experience. When necessary, I stand firm on our security interests.”

He added, "In the United States they say that Trump does everything I ask, and in Israel they say that I do everything he asks. We are partners. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we disagree, and that happens even in the best of families.”

These comments come after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a peace deal to end fighting in the Middle East, with one of the conditions being the enforcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon. Israel struck Lebanon today despite the deal — a move that was criticized by both Trump and Tehran.

Netanyahu said at the press conference today that he was not aware of the broader details of the deal.

"We still don’t know what will be in the agreement with Iran,” Netanyahu said.

He added, “Any agreement with Iran must be backed by a credible military threat."

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to its lowest level since 1983, as the administration continues draining 172 million barrels from the reserve into global markets to mitigate rising prices as part of a plan announced in March.

According to data released by the Energy Department today, the SPR has about 340 million barrels left in it as of Friday. The report also showed that almost 75 million barrels have so far been drained since March. 

If that total 172 million barrels are released, as is the plan, it will leave the reserve at its lowest level ever and very close to what the industry would call “operational minimum.”

Energy executives and analysts have been warning for weeks that as oil reserves (government and commercial) continue dropping, another sharp price spike may be on the horizon. 

Read more about oil prices today.

A final agreement “has not yet been formed,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X.

“What has been agreed upon is an important step toward stopping the war and starting negotiations,” he said, adding that Iran was “prepared for all options and the government’s focus, with or without an agreement, is sincere service to the people.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the agreement in a call today with Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Aoun expressed hope that the agreement would contribute to stability and security in Lebanon, and that the country's sovereignty would be respected, according to a statement from his office published on X.

Araghchi also supported this, the statement said.

Iran is approaching negotiations with the U.S. “on the basis of distrust” due to lessons they have learned in the past, the Islamic Republic's foreign minister said today.

“We have seen agreements go unimplemented, and we have seen agreements torn up,” Abbas Araghchi said in a statement reported by Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

“All of these experiences remain firmly in our minds,” he said, adding that Tehran will do everything in its power to open economic opportunities for the country.

If the memorandum of understanding agreed to by the U.S. and Iran is implemented properly, it will be a proud moment for Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement reported by semi-official news agency, Fars.

"Full implementation of this memorandum can resolve many issues and create new conditions in Iran and the Middle East," Pezeshkian said.

It was the kind of attack that could have derailed the highly anticipated truce between the United States and Iran: Israel’s military last night said it was preparing for an incoming salvo of Iranian missiles.

But the attack never came and, hours later, plans for the United States and Iran to sign a more permanent ceasefire deal in Geneva were being announced.

The white-knuckle diplomatic whiplash demonstrated once again how Israel’s more focused fight against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon still has the power to disrupt the broader American efforts to resolve its regionwide, monthslong war with Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly on the deal and an Israeli official briefed on the matter told NBC News that he is seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump in order to discuss it.

Read the full story here. 

The memorandum of understanding with Iran will likely be released sometime after Friday, Trump said during a bilateral press availability with French President Emanuel Macron.

“I think pretty soon ... I want it to be released because it’s a very powerful document. It’s not like the Obama document, which was just a terrible document. This is a very powerful document and I want it to be released, so probably pretty soon,” Trump told reporters in France.

“I would say, sometime after Friday, because the strait, it’s open now, but it opens completely,” he said.

Separately, a senior administration official told reporters today that details of the deal with Iran will be released in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Almost 3,800 people have been killed in Lebanon and over 11,700 have been wounded since the start of the latest hostilities with Israel, according the country’s health ministry. 

A man returning to his village inspects his destroyed house Monday in Tibnin, south Lebanon. Mohammed Zaatari / AP

Elsewhere, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported today that an Israeli drone attack killed one person in Kfar Tebnit, southern Lebanon. 

Journalist Hadi Abdel Moneim Hoteit who was in the region was taken to hospital after sustaining a shrapnel injury, the outlet reported.

It will take time “to ensure that all necessary safety and security guarantees are in place” to move crews out of the area in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to the head of the International Maritime Organization.

The deal “signals a crucial return to peace, dialogue, multilateralism and diplomacy, and in particular, an important step toward restoring safety in this vital maritime corridor for seafarers and ships, as well as safeguarding the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation,” Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.

The effective blockade of the strait by Iran and the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports have left hundreds of ships and their crew members stuck in limbo for more than three months.

And Dominguez, the IMO’s Secretary-General, paid tribute to “innocent seafarers affected and to their families” and commended their resilience through the crisis.

There is “zero passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said today.

In a video published on Telegram, an IRIB reporter said the vital waterway was “closed until further notice,” and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy had not permitted any vessels to transit the strait for more than 96 hours.

Israel has killed almost 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire was announced in October, while destroying communities and annexing territory in the occupied West Bank, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said today.

“Some senior Israeli officials have spoken publicly of the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza, and of ending any possibility of a viable Palestinian state. All of this is totally illegal,” Türk told the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council.

Zeina al-Habil hugs the body of her father Monday after he and her 5-year-old brother were killed in an Israeli missile strike that targeted their home in Gaza City. Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images

He added that Israel has killed almost 57 people in the West Bank and issued 23 land confiscation orders this year alone.

“We are out of red flags. Our many previous warnings have not been heeded,” he said, before calling on “all those with influence” to hold the responsible accountable and end the suffering of the Palestinians by helping to enforce the ceasefire.

Inside Iran there is disbelief and even skepticism over a deal with Trump and there is a sizeable group opposed to the agreement, a leading academic at the University of Tehran told NBC News this morning.

“There is a very very great pressure on the Iranian negotiators,” said Mohammad Eslami, who regularly traveled with Iranian negotiators during the nuclear talks.

There have been protests about Trump on the streets of Tehran he said, adding: “They were talking about a man who’s lied about the Iranians, who wanted to finish the Iranian civilisation.”

Pedestrians in Tehran today. Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

There is a deep distrust of Trump among the Iranian leadership, he said.

“Right now they are very skeptical regarding the outcome of this memorandom of understanding which is a real concern,” he said, adding it was up to the Trump Administration to fulfill the agreement. “If they can then I think the government will pursuade these people.” he said.

The memorandum of understanding is “a kind of interim deal between Iran and the United States,” he said. “It’s not something that is somehow exciting in Tehran because we do have the experience of having an international deal and Donald Trump himself withdrew from that international deal,” he added.

As leaders of the G7 gather in France, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will likely be top of the agenda.

Ahead of the summit in the eastern commune of Évian-les-Bains, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a “long-term reopening” of the strait in a video.

In a separate statement he called for the resumption of maritime traffic, “without restrictions or tolls,” which he called an essential condition for regional stability and the global economy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also called for “immediate reopening” of the strait and she said the freedom of navigation must be restored “toll-free.”

As Washington and Tehran prepare to sign a peace deal to end the war that has consumed the Middle East for months, one expert questioned what exactly has been accomplished by the conflict which began in late February.

The framework deal “basically takes us back to the situation that we were in right before the war,” Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute told NBC News in a phone interview today.

"The question is, well, what was accomplished? And the answer is, from the U.S. and Israeli perspective, very little, in fact, if anything," said Harrison, and the author of “Decoding Iran’s Foreign Policy.”

Iran in some ways appeared to have emerged from the conflict in a "stronger" negotiating position, he said, adding: "It does raise the question about what the war aims were."

The end of the war in Lebanon "is an inseparable part of the agreement to end the war," Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in a statement today, according to the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“The end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, refers to respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he was quoted as saying.

A final decision on the mechanism for signing the deal is expected within the next few days, after which the outcome will be officially announced, Baghaei added.

Ships, “many loaded up with Oil,” were “starting to move” out of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has said in a Truth Social post.

Traffic through the vital waterway, which before the war carried around a quarter of the world's oil flows, ground pratically to a halt when the U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran in February.

Ships were “going along the Southern ‘Highway,’ which is totally safe, secure, and pristine. There are other areas of travel, also!!!” Trump added.

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz today as seen from Musandam, Oman.   Reuters

Vance said in a CNBC interview that the short-term deal between the U.S. and Iran will “immediately” reopen the Strait of Hormuz and include a commitment from Iran to “never develop or procure a nuclear weapon.”

Iran would have to undergo a verification process to ensure it holds up its side of the deal, at which point the U.S. will lift sanctions, Vance said.

“We say to the Iranians, you are welcome to have access to an unsanctioned economy, you’re welcome to be re-invited into the world economy, but only if you honor the commitments that you make in this agreement,” he said. “So that’s the leverage point and simultaneously the enforcement mechanism we have over their nuclear program.”

The vice president also said that Iran has “committed to destroy and dispose of their stockpile of highly enriched material.”

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called the deal with Iran “bad for Israel and the entire free world” as he suggested Israel would continue the campaign to overthrow the Iranian regime on its own.

“We will be tested in Lebanon,” Smotrich said in a post on X earlier today. “This is our war, our fighters, and the immediate security of the residents of our north.”

Israel said this morning its forces won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, while Tehran warned Israeli attacks there need to be completely halted.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group welcomed the agreement between the U.S. and Iran, describing it as a “great achievement” and praising the role of Iranian people and leadership in securing the deal.

In a statement issued today, the group thanked Iran for the “unwavering support of Lebanon, its people, and its resistance,” and for their insistence that Lebanon must be included in any agreement aimed at ending hostilities and preserving the country’s rights.

A man waves a Hezbollah flag in Tehran's Islamic Revolution Square yesterday. Vahid Salemi / AP

Hezbollah also called on Lebanese authorities and political factions to use the current regional and international support to strengthen the country’s sovereignty and secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces. 

The group urged residents seeking to return to southern border communities to “exercise patience and await instructions from the relevant authorities,” citing dangers from potential violations of the ceasefire by the Israeli military.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Pezeshkian just announced that “the memorandum of understanding to end the war between Iran and America is scheduled to be signed on Friday,” according to state media IRNA.

Pakistan had said the same but this is the first confirmation from Tehran.

The Lebanese army urged residents to “exercise caution” when returning to villages and towns near the country’s southern border following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.

In a post on X, the army warned that violations of the ceasefire and Israeli attacks remain a risk, and called on residents to “adhere to the directives of the deployed military units” in the area.

Iran has made an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon a key priority in talks, but Israel said this morning it would not withdraw from areas it has seized in Lebanon.

Displaced residents return to their villages today near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. Mohammed Anouti / AP

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said today it had received a report that a container vessel off the coast of Yemen was approached by a small skiff. 

“The crew of the small skiff opened fire on the vessel and attempted to board,” the Royal Navy-backed organization said in a recent incidents update.

Egypt said the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran is “a highly significant development that will restore security and stability at both the regional and international levels.”

In a statement released today, Egypt’s foreign ministry said it hopes the agreement will mark a “major turning point” toward strengthening trust, advancing diplomacy and improving stability across the Middle East. 

Saudi Arabia also welcomed the agreement, saying it appreciates the efforts taken by the mediator countries and “the positive response of the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran to these efforts.”

The deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz does not mean an immediate surge in traffic for ships carrying much-needed global supplies of energy, fertilizer and other goods, analysts have cautioned.

"Even if the Strait is considered reopened, this does not automatically mean traffic will normalize immediately," Dimitris Ampatzidis, Maritime Risk & Compliance Manager at Kpler, told NBC News this morning.

The analyst added that around 500 vessels were in the strait at the time of writing, and that it would take roughly two or three months to return to prewar movement.

Looking at Marine Traffic, a vessel-tracking website, only four vessels crossed the waterway yesterday, and at 4 a.m. ET this morning it appears that one tanker only, the Disha, had crossed it.

"The key point is that the strait may reopen quickly from a political or security perspective, but the commercial shipping system is likely to normalize gradually. We would also remain cautious given how fragile the wider regional situation still appears," Ampatzidis said.

Trump will touch down in France today for a summit meeting with allies who are at odds with him over a pair of wars: one they don’t believe he should have started, and another they want him to do more to stop.

Trump will spend two days at the Group of Seven (G7) meeting of advanced democracies in the resort town of Evian-les-Bains, in which both the Iran war and Russia-Ukraine conflict figure to loom large.

Read the full story here.

01:05

On the streets of the Iranian capital, residents responded to the initial agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

Washington and Tehran have made significant progress toward a settlement but peace remains fragile, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said this morning.

“In short, peace is still fragile. However, the extensive work carried out by both sides, together with the mediators, to draft such a preliminary memorandum provides grounds, if it is ultimately signed, for efforts to restore peace in the Middle East to continue,” Naryshkin told Russian state news agency Tass.

Russia, a strong ally of Iran, has itself been mired in a war with Ukraine for more than four years, with the U.S.-led negotiations to settle the conflict currently stalled amid the Trump administration’s focus on the Middle East.

Qatari mediators have left Tehran after 17 hours of intensive negotiations, a regional diplomat briefed on developments tells NBC News.

A deal has been reached, and separate preparatory meetings with each side will now take place in Doha this week, ahead of the official signing in Switzerland and the start of the technical talks.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the agreement was very significant, adding that he had discussed the agreement with Trump on Saturday.

“Obviously, nothing is guaranteed, but it is, I think, a significant breakthrough, a very significant breakthrough. Hopefully, something which as we work together we can turn into that enduring peace that we all want to see,” Starmer said today at a news conference.

The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world’s largest international shipping association, said this morning that it remains risky for vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz despite the agreement announced last night.

“The statements by the U.S. and Iran are currently unclear and do not offer sufficient information regarding key aspects such as timings and safe routes,” BIMCO said in a statement.

"Due to lack of details and a history of overly optimistic reassurances, we believe the security situation for the shipping industry remains volatile," it added.

China welcomes the U.S. and Iran reaching an initial agreement and appreciates Pakistan's mediation efforts, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters today during a regular news briefing.

"The Strait of Hormuz is an important waterway for international navigation. Restoring stability in the strait serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community," he said.

"We hope that safe and free navigation in the strait will be restored at an early date."

An Israeli official briefed on the matter told NBC News that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to seek a meeting with Trump in order to discuss the Iran deal that the president announced last night.

“Netanyahu is trying to arrange a meeting with President Trump to go there,” said an Israeli official briefed on the matter, speaking about potentially going to Washington. 

It was first reported by CNN that Netanyahu was seeking a meeting with the president following the G7 summit.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this morning there is a need to stop “the aggression and destabilizing attacks” by Israel against Lebanon.

Araghchi was speaking during separate phone calls with his counterparts in Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

A heavily damaged building in the centre of Nabatieh, Lebanon this morning. Abbas Fakih / AFP via Getty Images

He also referred to United States' responsibility for implementing the agreement, and thanked Turkey, Iraq and Egypt for their support of efforts to secure the deal, according to a post on his Telegram.

World share prices soared after the tentative deal was announced, while oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, auguring likely early gains for Wall Street.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.7% to 25,066.48, while the CAC 40 in Paris also added 1.7% to 8,410.36.

Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8% to 10,553.18.

An agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran to end fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to President Donald Trump and Iranian officials. 

Trump says U.S.-Iran deal ‘complete’ after months of negotiations

02:30

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

A signing was scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, Pakistan said.

Read the full story here.