The American and Iranian presidents each signed remotely on Wednesday June 17 evening the memorandum of understanding in which Tehran undertakes to dilute its enriched uranium as part of future negotiations, in exchange for the lifting of Washington’s sanctions.
Washington and Tehran agreed this week on an agreement to end the conflict launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic, which has left thousands dead, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. The memorandum of understanding, which includes the Lebanese front, was signed by Donald Trump, visiting France.
“I just signed it,” he told the press as he left the Palace of Versailles. A White House official subsequently published a video on X where we see the Republican signing the agreement alongside Emmanuel Macron, with a thumbs up and a smile on his face.
🚨 President Donald J. Trump has SIGNED the Iran Memorandum of Understanding at Versailles in France. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JQ6qlbvFAF
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 17, 2026
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The text was signed by Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and his American counterpart, declared the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ismaïl Baghaï.
Reopening of Hormuz
This means that the Strait of Hormuz is “instantly” reopened and the US blockade of Iranian ports ends “immediately”, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said. He also confirmed that a ceremony will take place on Friday in Switzerland to “commemorate this significant event and kick off technical discussions”.
A formal signing by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was initially planned in Switzerland at the end of the week. “This agreement demonstrates the failure of the United States” against Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared on state television on Wednesday evening.
The secretary general of pro-Tehran Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah, Naïm Kassem, described this agreement as a “great victory” for Iran, which he thanked for having insisted on including the Lebanese front. In a televised message, he called for “taking advantage” of this agreement to “expel Israel” from Lebanon. Lebanon was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in support of Iran.
The leader of Hezbollah also called on the Lebanese government to stop direct negotiations with Israel, initiated since April under the aegis of Washington. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had previously assured that the process was “independent” of the American-Iranian agreement.
Two-month negotiation period
The text of the memorandum of understanding, read Wednesday by a senior American official to journalists, provides that the United States will suspend, upon signature, its sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil. They also undertake to lift all of their sanctions against Tehran in the event of the conclusion of a final agreement, at the end of a 60-day negotiation period.
During these two months, the two countries will discuss a mechanism to deal with Iranian stocks “using, at a minimum, an on-site dilution method under the supervision of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)”, underlined this official, wanting to see it as a “major victory” for Washington.
According to the same source, Iran must, for its part, allow, within 30 days, the full restoration of maritime traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the persistent blockage of which weighs on the world economy.
The United States also undertakes, in the event of a final agreement, to facilitate “with their regional partners”, particularly in the Gulf, the release of a fund of 300 billion dollars for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran, without this implying any American financial participation. Iran published the text of the agreement on Wednesday, via the government news agency IRNA.
The G7 member countries, meeting in France for a summit, welcomed in a joint declaration “a historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapons and to tackle the threats linked to its regional and ballistic activities”.
China, for its part, considered it “essential” that “all parties” scrupulously apply this agreement and avoid external “interference”, during a telephone conversation between its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, according to Beijing.
The head of Chinese diplomacy, whose country is largely dependent on oil imports from the Gulf, insisted on the need for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to be “properly managed, responding prudently to the serious concerns of the international community”.
