FRANCE: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the memorandum of understanding reached with Iran clearly states that Tehran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Speaking to reporters during the G7 summit in France, Trump said the text of the agreement would be released in a formal setting and noted that he was open to the idea of submitting the deal to Congress for review, as requested by some Republican lawmakers.
Trump expressed confidence that the next phase of negotiations would move quickly, saying the agreement had already entered a second stage that he believed would be easier to complete. He also stressed that the United States would not be investing any money in Iran under the arrangement.
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters that the deal with Iran had been completed and was now moving into a follow-up phase. He described the agreement as a significant step forward and said he expected it to be successful.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that a new round of negotiations with the United States aimed at reaching a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme was likely to begin on Friday. Speaking during a briefing with foreign diplomats broadcast on state television, Araghchi said the talks would take place at a location that had yet to be determined.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that Trump could decide to release details of the agreement before Friday. The memorandum, which has already been electronically signed by officials from both countries, is expected to be formally signed in person later this week.
Speaking after arriving in Evian, France, Trump said the agreement had already been signed and that the full text would be made public after the formal signing ceremony. He also stated that the Strait of Hormuz was already partially open and would be fully reopened by Friday.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told Tasnim news agency that Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, would attend the signing of an interim agreement aimed at ending the conflict with the United States. However, he said the exact location and format of the ceremony had not yet been finalised.
Vance reiterated that the agreement had been digitally signed on Sunday and emphasised that no funds had been released to Iran as part of the arrangement. Asked about the timing of the memorandum’s publication, Trump said it would likely be made public sometime shortly after Friday’s signing ceremony.
The US president added that any sanctions relief for Tehran would depend on Iran’s behaviour and compliance with the terms of the agreement. According to Trump, sanctions would only begin to ease if Iran fulfilled its commitments.
In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Vance said the signing of the memorandum would not automatically result in the release of frozen Iranian assets. He stressed that there had been no financial concessions and that this position would remain unchanged.
Vance explained that sanctions relief would only be granted if Iran took verifiable steps to eliminate its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and accepted a robust international verification regime to ensure it could not develop a nuclear weapon.
He said that if Iran cooperated with inspections and dismantled its enriched uranium reserves, sanctions relief could follow. However, he warned that failure to comply would prevent Tehran from gaining access to funds that could potentially be used to rebuild its nuclear programme.
In a separate interview with CNBC, Vance said Washington expected the strategically important Strait of Hormuz to remain open without tolls over the long term. He acknowledged that several technical details still needed to be resolved and said negotiators from both sides would continue discussions to determine the path forward.
The United States and Iran have announced that they have agreed on terms to end their conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a development that has eased concerns in global markets. Although the arrangement remains a framework agreement and key issues such as Tehran’s nuclear programme are still under negotiation, it represents the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the conflict began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, a war that has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted global energy markets.