Pakistan says US-Iran memorandum has taken effect
Shehbaz Sharif said the interim deal begins with Hormuz reopening and the US ending its naval blockade, as both sides prepare further talks.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a US-Iran memorandum of understanding has taken effect immediately, opening a new phase in efforts to stop the war between Washington and Tehran. Sharif said the first steps are Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the United States lifting its naval blockade.
US President Donald Trump told reporters he signed the document with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the Palace of Versailles in France. Al Jazeera reported that video of the signing showed Trump pausing before signing and saying, “This was not easy.”
The agreement is an interim arrangement, with negotiating teams expected to meet in Geneva on Friday to advance it. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran was dealing with Washington from a position of strength.
Iran’s state-linked Press TV reported that 11 Iranian ships had passed through the US naval blockade since the two sides completed the text of the memorandum on Sunday. The claim came as Iranian officials described the Strait of Hormuz as a central part of the early implementation of the deal.
Iran sets terms for compliance
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Tehran would watch US compliance closely and would not carry out its own commitments if Washington failed to meet its obligations. Baghaei said talks during a 60-day period would cover Iran’s nuclear programme and the removal of US sanctions.
Baghaei said Iran’s missile programme would not be part of any talks. He also said Tehran would not send its stockpile of highly enriched uranium abroad, while describing dilution of the material as one option under discussion.
On Hormuz, Baghaei said Iran and Oman would finalise a new system to manage the waterway, including fees for services. On Lebanon, he said Iran had shown it did not abandon its allies and said the US was responsible for ensuring Israel respected commitments to Iran.
Reactions in Washington and the region
Joe Kent, who resigned in March as director of the US National Counterterrorism Center in protest against the US-Israel war on Iran, welcomed the signing in a post on X. Kent said Trump was ending the war and said restraining Israel and focusing on regional stability would be needed to preserve the agreement.
Republican Senator Roger Marshall also praised the memorandum on X, calling it a winning deal and comparing it favorably with the Iran agreement reached under former President Barack Obama, which Trump abandoned in 2018. Marshall said any final nuclear deal would be supported by a UN Security Council resolution and described Arab backing as a diplomatic win.
The agreement has drawn criticism from parts of Trump’s Republican Party and from Israel, according to Al Jazeera. Rami Khouri, a distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut, told the network that a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon remained distant and said US and Iranian negotiators may need four to five months, beyond the stated 60-day timetable, to finish the deal.
Khouri said the United States would ultimately have to pressure Israel to change its policy, though he said that had not yet happened. He argued Trump was taking more conciliatory steps despite public threats toward Iran.
The Israeli military said separately that a 29-year-old soldier was killed during combat in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. It said three other soldiers were moderately wounded in the same attack and four were lightly wounded.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.