TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — Iran and the United States have reached a tentative agreement to end more than 100 days of war, with both capitals announcing a memorandum of understanding that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports. The deal, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, is scheduled to be formally signed in Geneva on Friday, June 19.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed on Monday that the agreement covers the immediate and permanent suspension of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, which has been under intense Israeli military operations since early March. “Based on the agreements reached, the war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, will end immediately and permanently as of tonight, and in addition, the naval blockade against Iran will end immediately and completely,” the secretariat said in a statement.
A war triggered by nuclear talks
The conflict erupted on February 28 after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian territory amid ongoing negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. The war ignited a global energy crisis, sent oil prices sharply higher, and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes. Iran’s de facto blockade of the waterway had tightened global supply for months.
US President Donald Trump announced the breakthrough on his Truth Social platform. “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he wrote.
What the agreement contains
Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the framework includes an “immediate and permanent end to the war and military operations on various fronts, including Lebanon.” He added that negotiations on a final agreement would take place over a 60-day window, contingent on Iran verifying that the United States has fulfilled its commitments under the memorandum.
Those commitments include ending hostilities, lifting the naval blockade, and releasing frozen Iranian assets held abroad. US Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Fox News, framed the deal as the beginning of a new regional chapter. “What the president has done is create the real space to transform that region. And now, hopefully, a new era with the Iranians,” Vance said. He reiterated a central US objective: “I think we can safely say, with confidence, that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Pakistan and Qatar take the credit
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani announced the breakthrough first, having shuttled between Tehran and Washington in the closing days of negotiations. Tehran specifically thanked both governments in its official statement, noting the role of “the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Government of Qatar” in helping the parties reach a deal.
The choice of Geneva as the signing venue reflects Switzerland’s longstanding role as a neutral host for sensitive US-Iranian diplomacy, including the 2015 nuclear talks that produced the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The signing ceremony is expected to draw foreign ministers and senior security officials from the mediating countries, alongside representatives of both governments.
Regional and market reaction
Global markets responded immediately. Stocks climbed worldwide and oil prices fell sharply on the news, with benchmark crude posting one of its largest single-day drops in months as traders priced in the resumption of normal Hormuz traffic. The strait’s reopening, if it holds, is expected to relieve pressure on Asian and European importers that have paid significant premiums for non-Iranian barrels since the blockade began.
Israeli officials have not yet confirmed whether they will halt operations in Lebanon as called for in the Iranian statement, and analysts cautioned that the agreement’s implementation — particularly the question of Israeli strikes continuing against Iran-backed forces — will be the true test of the deal. A senior US official told reporters that final language on verification and enforcement is still being negotiated and could shift before Friday’s signing.
What to watch next
Friday’s signing in Geneva will formalize the framework, but the 60-day negotiation window that follows will determine whether the deal holds. Key questions include the sequencing of frozen-asset releases, the scope of any inspection regime covering Iran’s nuclear facilities, and whether all parties to Lebanon’s conflict treat the ceasefire as binding. For now, however, both governments are framing the agreement as the end of the most serious flare-up between Washington and Tehran in decades.