Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0
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US and Iran presidents sign ceasefire agreement, but Trump says he could still resume attacks

REUTERS

Published :
Jun 18, 2026 09:23
Updated :
Jun 18, 2026 09:23

1781756950060.webp

US President Donald Trump looks on as he arrives for a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth, during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, 2026 — Reuters photo

The U.S. and Iran released the text of an interim agreement their presidents have signed to end their war on Wednesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they failed to honour their commitments.

Trump, attending the G7 with other leaders in France, also withdrew at least one of his stated rationales for attacking Iran in the first place, saying it would be "unfair" for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles, having previously ‌vowed to obliterate them.

"We're going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement," Trump said of Iran at a press conference. "I don't want them to. I want them to honor the agreement." He also called Iranians "smart people" as U.S. and Iranian negotiators work on a permanent truce over the coming 60 days, which Trump said he hoped would usher in peace in the Middle East and lower oil prices.

Earlier, he had said: "If I don't like it, if they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, OK?"

Iran's leaders did not address the new threats while celebrating the moment, releasing photographs of what is believed to be the first agreement signed by both a U.S. and Iranian president since the Islamic Republic's founding in 1979.

"Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation; it was not even comparable," Iran's lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told state television about the agreement, which includes the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran ⁠on February 28, assassinating the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and military leaders on the first day. It quickly spiralled into a regional conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon; driven up energy prices; renewed inflationary pressures and sparked concerns about a major food supply crisis in developing countries.

The 14-point agreement extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days, including in Lebanon, to allow the two sides to negotiate a final truce. Both Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have digitally signed the memorandum in English and Farsi, U.S. and Iran officials said, with Iran's foreign ministry saying the agreement was already in effect as of Wednesday.

Trump signed just before a grand dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles, the site of the signing of the eponymous treaty that formally ended World War One.

G7 LEADERS WELCOME IRAN DEAL

The memorandum includes an immediate end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, the full resumption of maritime traffic "with no charge" in the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, the waiving of U.S. sanctions on Iran, the unfreezing of its assets, and a $300 billion investment fund for the Islamic Republic's post-war reconstruction.

Oil prices fell again on Wednesday on prospects for the reopening of the Hormuz, the slender, vital waterway between Iran and Oman, with Brent crude futures below $80, at their lowest level since the war's start. They later regained more than 1% after Trump threatened renewed violence.

Iran also undertakes not to build nuclear weapons, reaffirming a vow it had made for decades. It also agreed to the on-site "down-blending" of its stockpile of enriched uranium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, although Trump had wanted to take it out of the country, which Iran has rejected.

Despite his combative rhetoric, Trump appears ‌to have achieved ⁠little of what he said he wanted in going to war, while Iran appears much closer to sanctions relief worth billions of dollars than before it was attacked.

Iran's theocratic government remains in place, its stockpile of highly enriched uranium has not been surrendered, its ballistic missile capabilities have not been destroyed and it has not ended its support for anti-Israel militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Trump recanted his February promise to destroy all of Iran's missiles and "raze their missile industry to the ground."

"I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little bit unfair for them not to have some," Trump told reporters in Paris after leaving the summit.

G7 leaders hailed the agreement at their summit, held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, an hour's drive along the shore of Lake Geneva from where the U.S. has said a formal signing ceremony for the U.S.-Iran agreement was due to be held across the Swiss border on Friday.

But Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei cast doubt on ⁠this, telling IRIB's News Network that, because the two presidents had already signed, "No signing ceremony will be held in Switzerland."

European leaders share U.S. concerns about Iran's nuclear program, but never endorsed his decision to go to war without United Nations authorization, and worry Iran has gained leverage by withstanding the superpower onslaught and asserting control over the strait.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Italy, Canada and the U.S. demanded in a joint statement an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, where the memorandum calls for a halt to hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group that have killed thousands of people and displaced more than a million more.

Fighting there has abated ⁠but not ceased since the agreement was reached on Sunday, and Israel, which was not part of the negotiations and whose military is occupying southern Lebanon, says it retains the right to use force.

TRUMP CHIDES NETANYAHU


Trump on Wednesday gently rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has distanced Israel from the U.S.-Iran agreement, over his tactics in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The two men have repeatedly clashed over Israel's refusal to constrain its pursuit of Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand.

"Netanyahu happens to be a good man, gets a little excited sometimes," Trump told reporters. "We have ⁠a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, Bibi," he said, using Netanyahu's nickname. "You don't have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that's from Hezbollah."

Lebanese state media reported fresh Israeli air strikes and artillery fire in several southern towns throughout Wednesday. Lebanese security sources said Hezbollah had also launched two drone attacks on Israeli forces in the south. The group did not publicly claim the attacks.

Israel later said five of its soldiers had been injured in two Hezbollah drone attacks in southern Lebanon.​
 

The 14-point draft of the US-Iran deal

REUTERS

Published :
Jun 17, 2026 23:59
Updated :
Jun 18, 2026 00:18

1781759215458.webp

People wave Iranian flags during a rally in Tehran, Iran, May 29, 2026. Photo : Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The United States has so far not released the full text of the interim US-Iran agreement to halt the war in Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz.

But a draft copy reviewed by Reuters lays out in 14 points a high-level understanding that defers until a final agreement is signed many of the most difficult issues, such as how to wind down Iran's nuclear program. It paves the way for a broader 60-day negotiation period due to begin in Switzerland on Friday.

The full draft document is published here verbatim:

1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and ‌the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article and the remaining Articles.

2. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.

3. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.

4. Immediately upon the signing of this Memorandum ⁠of Understanding, the United States lift the naval blockade and prevent any interference or obstruction against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and restore traffic within a maximum of 30 days to its full capacity; the traffic of ships shall be proportional to the pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement.

5. Upon signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take steps to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.

6. The United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to create a comprehensive plan agreed upon by both parties for the rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while ensuring financing of at least $300 billion. The implementation mechanism of this plan, as part of the final agreement, will be formulated within 60 days.

7. The United States commits to ending, on a schedule to be agreed upon as part of the final agreement, all types of sanctions currently facing the Islamic Republic of Iran, including ‌resolutions of the ⁠United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and all unilateral US sanctions, both primary and secondary.

8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.

9. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose ⁠new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.

10. The United States undertakes that immediately after the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and until the date of the lifting of sanctions, the United States Treasury Department will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like.

11. The United States undertakes that, in light of the progress of negotiations towards a final agreement, frozen or restricted funds ⁠and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be released and made fully available. These funds, whether held in the master account or transferred, will be used for any final beneficiary payment determined by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be fully available for use. The United States undertakes to issue all necessary permits and licenses on this basis.

12. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree ⁠that an implementation mechanism will be established to oversee the successful implementation of and future commitment to the Final Agreement.

13. Following the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and upon receipt of assurances regarding the commencement of implementation of Articles 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this Memorandum of Understanding, and the continued implementation of these steps, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States will enter into negotiations for a Final Agreement solely with respect to the remaining Articles.

14. The final agreement will be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council.​
 

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