US, Iran sign initial deal to end war, ease sanctions, and open strait

policy

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped broker the agreement, said in a post on X that the initial agreement to end the war takes “immediate effect” after the leaders of both countries signed it.

Written by: Michelle L. Price, Matthew Lee, Jon Gambrell, Sami Magdy and Mike Catalini, The Associated Press

June 17, 2026

6 minutes to read

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran on Wednesday calling for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waive U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to details released by both countries.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped broker the agreement, said in a post on X that the initial agreement to end the war takes “immediate effect” after the leaders of both countries signed it.

The agreement calls for a permanent cessation of hostilities and begins a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final agreement on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, although Trump has left the door open for a resumption of attacks. It appears to be offering Iran many benefits up front while getting little in return.

The deal remained shrouded in secrecy and confusion for several days. US officials declined to disclose the terms even after they said Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance signed them digitally over the weekend. Trump signed a physical copy on Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles, the palace where many historic agreements were signed over the centuries, ending wars or regional disputes.

The White House had planned to hold a signing ceremony on Friday in Switzerland, but its fate is now uncertain, in light of conflicting information from the United States, Iran and Pakistan.

“It’s signed,” Trump said as he left the dinner in Versailles, which followed his trip to the G7 summit in France.

In a video posted online by a White House aide, Trump was seen sitting at a table next to Macron as he signed a paper copy of the agreement. Trump then handed the document and pen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio amid applause from those present in the room.

“This was not easy,” Trump said just before signing it, according to a video Macron posted on social media.

In Tehran, stone-faced President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the deal on Iran’s behalf, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, which published photos of him holding up the deal with his and Trump’s signatures.

The text of the agreement has not been officially published yet. US officials dictated a draft to reporters after days of secrecy, and they spoke on condition of anonymity. Iranian state television later released a transcript that largely tracks what the United States published.

The agreement will stop the fighting and begin further negotiations

Much of the agreement would restore the pre-war status quo, including ending hostilities, resuming talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure has created a historic energy crisis.

The agreement opens the strait without traffic fees for two months, but does not prevent the imposition of fees in the future, according to the drafts of the two countries.

In exchange, the United States will move to waive some of the broad sanctions against Iran, but not remove them.

The agreement also confirms the commitment to Lebanon’s territorial integrity in the face of the Israeli invasion against the armed group Hezbollah. This is one of the most sensitive parts of the agreement because Israel insisted that it would continue to defend itself and occupy vast areas of Lebanon. Iran said Israel must withdraw under the agreement, a condition Israel has already rejected.

The United States and Israel went to war on February 28, in part, to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump has indicated various goals for the war, including at times pledging to end Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and its support for Hezbollah and other proxy groups in the region. He also indicated that this could lead to the overthrow of the Iranian government.

The interim agreement does not achieve all of these goals, but Trump praised it on Wednesday and described it as “very strong.”

He also opened the door to abandoning it: “It is a memorandum of understanding, and if I do not like it, we will return to shooting at them and dropping bombs.”

The US agreement to immediately allow Iran to sell its oil freely and to offer to eventually lift all sanctions represent major concessions that go beyond the terms of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Trump withdrew America from that agreement concluded under Obama during his first term, declaring it “the worst deal ever.”

The Islamic Republic insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.

The agreement is likely to spark intense opposition in Washington, and appears to represent a major setback for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been criticized at home by the media, his opponents and even some of his allies as details emerge.

Under the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran that Trump withdrew from, Iran also agreed to limits on its nuclear program and promised never to build a nuclear weapon.

Significant concessions have been made to Iran

Some concessions to Iran — including the full lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets — will happen gradually and will be linked to progress in the nuclear talks, according to officials from Pakistan, the main mediator. They identified some of the key points of the deal on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

But in the meantime, the United States will issue sanctions waivers allowing Iran to sell oil freely.

The Islamic Republic’s oil export revenues in 2024 amounted to more than $46 billion. It is believed that China, the main buyer of oil, bought oil at below market prices due to its willingness to ignore sanctions.

Granting oil waivers at the start of the 60-day talks strips the United States of a key point of influence. Sanctions on Iranian oil were not lifted until the comprehensive agreement was concluded in 2015.

The interim agreement also opens the door to an end to all sanctions Iran faces from the United States and the United Nations — including those related to Tehran’s weapons programs and human rights abuses — although he says the timeline for that will be determined later. However, this goes far beyond the 2015 agreement, which only lifted some sanctions in exchange for Iran significantly reducing its enrichment and uranium stockpile.

The agreement will also provide Iran with at least $300 billion for reconstruction, an exceptional figure and another major benefit for Iran. The funds also appear to depend on progress in additional negotiations.

Vance said that the Arab Gulf states will invest this amount. But the Gulf states are likely to hesitate to help Iran after Iranian attacks in the war destroyed oil facilities and other sites in their territory.

Trump confirmed on Wednesday that the United States would not contribute, and said that it was up to other countries if they wanted to invest.

The agreement would provide relief to the global economy

The initial agreement provides a major win for the global economy — the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas trade passed before the war began. Since then, Iranian attacks on ships and the threat to ships have effectively closed the strait.

The closure of the strait has pushed up energy prices around the world and made many essentials, including food, more expensive. Iran allowed some ships that paid fees to cross, something that had never happened before in the strait, which has long been considered an international waterway. Later, the United States provided military support to take out other tankers, but traffic was nowhere near pre-war levels.

The agreement also stipulates that the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports and that the strait will return to pre-war traffic levels within 30 days, while acknowledging that there may be a need to destroy Iranian mines.

Gambrell reported from Dubai. Magdy reported from Cairo. Catalini reported from Mooresville, Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Evian-les-Bains, France, Darlene Superville in Geneva, Angela Charlton in Paris, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this story.