Deal promises end to conflict

TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — The United States and Iran both claimed victory on Monday after digitally signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the three-month conflict, yet both sides continue to offer conflicting accounts of its contents as the text remains unpublished.

Iran called the deal a triumph over Washington and Israel. "The enemy that had attacked to carry out its evil aims was defeated in all its aims and the Islamic Republic of Iran won great victories in the war," Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in remarks broadcast on state television on Monday.

US President Donald Trump hailed the agreement for restoring stability in the global markets. "I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now. And very importantly, the oil (price) is plummeting down, and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today," Trump was quoted by PBS News as saying on Monday in Evianles-Bains, France, which is currently hosting the G7 Leaders' Summit.

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a halt to military operations across multiple fronts have been announced by both sides, with key details remaining disputed. Among the unresolved issues is Iran's proposed fees for ships transiting the strait.

Trump insisted on Monday that the strait will be toll-free and "there's no argument on that". US Vice-President JD Vance said in an interview with CNBC on Monday that the strait is expected to open "in a toll-free way for the long term".

However, Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency reported on Monday that Iran will accept ships' passage through the waterway free of charge solely for 60 days, after which the country intends to provide security, maritime, environmental and insurance services to crossing vessels and use the revenues for its economic development.

Differences also remain over Lebanon. Both sides announced an immediate ceasefire across all fronts, but it remains unclear whether the arrangement would require the Israeli military to withdraw from the large areas of southern Lebanon it currently occupies.

Lebanon truce

Iran's top diplomat was quoted as saying on Tuesday that the end of the Iran war included the end of Israel's occupation of Lebanon.

Iranian state television quoted Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi making the comment to foreign diplomats in a briefing.

"The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of complete end of the war," Araghchi was quoted as saying. But US officials argued that Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon wasn't a condition for the agreement and that Israel could respond to attacks by Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said in a news conference that the Israeli military will remain in the "security zones" it controls in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip as long as necessary.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said Israel wouldn't withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory.

On Iran's nuclear program, both sides acknowledged that Tehran is committed to not developing nuclear weapons, yet they made diverging claims over the disposal of Iran's highly enriched uranium.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump suggested the US will work with Iran to remove enriched uranium at an "appropriate time".

Tehran, however, has been firm in securing its right to enrichment on its own soil and against any proposal to transfer enriched uranium outside of Iran.

Tehran insists the only acceptable way of dealing with its highly enriched uranium will be diluting it within Iranian territory, Araghchi said in an interview with the state-run IRIB TV on Friday.

Both sides are making contradictory claims about the agreement on frozen assets and economic sanctions against Iran.

With major questions still unanswered, the deal's real challenge begins after its formal signing in Switzerland on Friday, kicking off 60 days of technical negotiations.

Experts said based on the details released so far, the agreement does not fundamentally resolve the longstanding differences between the US and Iran over issues such as the nuclear program, nor does it reduce the mutual distrust between the two sides.

"The reported agreement appears to focus on urgent issues necessary to halt escalation … More contentious subjects have been deferred to future negotiations," said Aram Kiwan, an Arab Israeli political analyst and columnist, noting that he sees the most likely scenario as a lengthy, phased negotiating process.

"At this stage, it is difficult to speak of comprehensive peace," said Suleiman Basharat, a Palestinian political analyst. "A single agreement can help reduce tensions, but it is unlikely by itself to deliver lasting peace across the wider Middle East."

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