US, Iran sign MoU remotely to end conflict

United States President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which came into immediate effect, to end the war in the Middle East. A formal ceremony is scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday.

Iranian and US media showed the two leaders signing and holding up a document finalizing the deal without an in-person ceremony. The provisions of the deal include stopping the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a post on X on Thursday that he was "honoured" to announce that the "historic Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has been electronically signed today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran", which was "also endorsed by me as the mediator".

"Islamabad MoU shall enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step," Sharif said. He added that Iran "will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the US will immediately lift the naval blockade".

A spokesperson later said that Sharif was postponing his visit to Switzerland for the US-Iran ceremony because the agreement on ending the Middle East war had been signed remotely.

Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a televised interview that Iran has conducted negotiations with the US from a position of strength. "When I speak of negotiations and diplomacy, I mean a diplomacy of strength," Ghalibaf said.

Before signing the document at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, Trump said that it was "not easy".

Trump, who was in France to attend the G7 Summit, told reporters that he did not want to see "economic catastrophe" as he defended his deal with Iran. But he also said that if Iran did not honor the deal, "we would probably go back to bombing them".

According to the 14-point MoU text published by the US and Iranian media, the provisions of the deal include the US undertaking steps to terminate all types of sanctions against Iran within an agreed upon schedule.

The US will also work with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran. The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of a final deal within 60 days.

Pending the final deal, Iran and the US agree to maintain the status quo. Tehran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program, and the US will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.

The provisions also stipulate that the final deal will be endorsed by a binding United Nations Security Council resolution.

China welcomed the conclusion of the first phase of the MoU between the US and Iran, saying that it provides favorable conditions for easing regional tensions, while urging Israel and other relevant parties to do more to facilitate the implementation of the deal and the upcoming second phase of negotiations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular press briefing. "China stands ready to continue leveraging its influence and work with the international community to make unremitting efforts for the early realization of lasting peace and security in the Middle East," Lin said.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also welcomed the deal. "Now it is for us to sit down with our American and Iranian colleagues and start formulating concrete steps that will have to be taken," Grossi was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that talks between the US and Iran would continue at Switzerland's Buergenstock resort.

Dina Yulianti Sulaeman, director of the Indonesia Center for Middle East Studies, told China Daily that Iran is now "better off" and the MoU was not a triumph for the US, but the recognition of the situation.

Sulaeman noted that the targets that had been discussed by Washington and Tel Aviv from the start of the war were regime change in Tehran, destruction of Iran's nuclear program, curbing its ballistic missile program and reducing its regional militant network.

"The present MoU, however, does not appear to have (met) any of these goals. Instead, Iran keeps its political system, is acknowledged as a legitimate negotiating partner, has access to frozen assets, has sanctions relief and doesn't have to stop all of its missile programs," said Sulaeman.

"Indeed, some of Iran's main demands, including an end to the war and the normalization of trade and shipping routes, are in the agreement. Thus I believe this MoU is not a triumph of American diplomacy but a recognition of the situation," she added.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported, citing a senior Israeli official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel is "conducting stubborn negotiations" with the US on continued deployment of troops in southern Lebanon.