Trump Announces Deal Is Done With Iran, Strait of Hormuz To Reopen This Week

A deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has been executed and the waterway for 20 percent of the world’s oil will reopen forthwith, President Trump announced Sunday, declaring a long-awaited peace agreement “complete.”A formal memorandum of understanding for a larger peace deal is scheduled for a signing ceremony on Friday in Switzerland — and several items are still on the table for talks to take place in a 60-day period. However, the movement of oil will begin immediately, the president said.“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!” the president said in a Sunday evening Truth Social post.“This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region,” the president added. “With the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World!”While the U.S. president offered few details, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, wrote on X that America and the Islamic Republic declared the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” An in-person agreement will be signed, Mr. Sharif wrote, following a series of “pre-implementation” meetings this week with mediators to “lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony.” Those in attendance at Geneva will be Vice President Vance and Iran’s chief negotiators, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf and Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, the New York Times reported. “We would like to thank the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” Mr. Sharif said, also thanking his “brothers in this mediation effort,” Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, told Iran’s state television that execution of the agreement will take effect after Friday’s signing, though further negotiations will take place only after assets are unfrozen and the blockade ends. Military operations, including in Lebanon, will be effective beginning Sunday night, Iran’s diplomatic mission in Hyderabad quoted him saying.“The text of the memorandum of understanding will be published shortly, and the public will be able to see Iran’s achievements and commitments,” Mr. Gharibabadi added, according to Iran International news agency. Even as the agreement was announced, Israeli Defense Forces announced a rocket from Lebanon entered Israeli territory and was intercepted. Earlier in the day, Israel hit Hezbollah in the Daniyah suburb at Beirut after the terror group fired three drones into northern Israel on Sunday. Three were reportedly killed and six injured in Lebanon while no one was injured in Israel.“Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement announcing the strikes. Afterward, Mr. Trump scolded Israel, telling Mr. Netanyahu that the Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah are unnecessary and complicate efforts in the final hours of dealmaking. According to Reuters, Iran’s enriched uranium and armed proxies are not addressed in the final memorandum of understanding, with officials saying the issues will instead be dealt with during the 60-day period negotiators are requesting for a final deal.An unnamed senior Iranian official who spoke to Reuters before the announcement said according to the memorandum, Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial vessels and the United States will lift its naval blockade on Iranian shipping traffic. The United States will also waive sanctions on Iran to let it sell oil and receive revenue; will release $24 billion in assets; and will not impose new sanctions during the 60-day period. In return, Iran will not produce nor acquire nuclear weapons and will not enrich uranium nor expand its nuclear facilities during the 60-day period while talks unfold about how to dilute existing highly enriched uranium stockpiles in Iran.Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency added that a supervisory mechanism would monitor implementation of the deal, which will have to be approved by a UN Security Council resolution. Of the $24 billion in sanctioned assets, Iran will receive half before the 60-day negotiation phase begins.The reported deal is seen at a loss for America among skeptics of the administration and even some of its supporters. President Obama’s former special assistant and national security spokesman, Tommy Vietor, who was in on the negotiations for the 2015 deal between Iran and America that Mr. Trump has repeatedly lambasted, said ending the standoff is the best outcome, “but the truth is Trump accomplished none of his goals and lost the war to Iran.”“Iran’s nuclear program is not eliminated, nor are its ballistic missiles. But Iran now knows it can crater the global economy at any time,” he said on X.Speaking before the deal was announced, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said the reported details sound like a worse deal than that negotiated by Mr. Obama. Mr. Trump retorted that the deal does much more than Mr. Reed’s understanding.“The Obuma Deal was a road to a Nuclear weapon for Iran, cash and all, one of the worst and dumbest (hence Dumocrats!) Deals ever made by the U.S. Our Deal is a WALL against Iran ever having a Nuclear weapon, the complete opposite of Obuma. Impeach Jack Reed!” he said.Senator Lindsey Graham, who earlier said that the agreement as described by the Iranian media “would be awful” for America, noted Sunday before it was completed that even if it denies Iran “the ability to produce a nuclear weapon and stop their reign of terror on the region may be at hand, we still must understand who we are dealing with.” That includes a regime hellbent on hosting a proxy army on Israel’s northern flank. “It is clear to me that no matter what deal we sign with Iran, Hezbollah’s stated ambitions of destroying Israel and making Lebanon a caliphate have not fundamentally changed,” he said.The CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Mark Dubowitz, also appealed to the president to not go soft on Hezbollah, saying its sole objective is to “wage war against America, Israel — and the Lebanese people.” “Hezbollah has been attacking America and Israel for over four decades. It has violated every ceasefire,” Mr. Dubowitz posted on X. “The IRGC and Hezbollah are trying to destroy your Iran policy and ruin your legacy.”The supposed deal between the United States and Iran does little to ameliorate Israel’s security concerns. According to Maariv news in Israel, Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Trump that Israel will not be bound to any arrangement that stymies Israel’s attempts to thwart threats from Hezbollah.“Netanyahu told the American president that the IDF will not withdraw from Lebanon, will remain in the positions it currently holds, and will continue to act to thwart the threat from Hezbollah—including the destruction of terror infrastructure and a response to any attack against Israel,” Maariv reporter, Anna Rayva-Barsky, said on X. “The main message: Israel has an independent security-strategic interest in Lebanon, and it intends to stand by it,” Ms. Rayva-Barsky continued.Rank-and-file Republicans, however, praised the president for his negotiating acumen. “The deal with Iran is a major victory for peace and security. @POTUS once again demonstrated that strong leadership and American strength can deliver results that make our nation and the world safer,” said Representative Jimmy Patronis of Florida.“Unlike the agreement reached under the Obama administration, this deal will not allow Iran to continue enriching uranium and build up the components necessary to build a nuclear weapon. I applaud President Trump for his leadership and the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have held the line,” said Representative Robert Aderholt of Alabama.“This deal protects America and the world, while providing an open Strait of Hormuz delivering stability for our farmers who rely on this for needed inputs!” added Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Trump Announces Deal Is Done With Iran, Strait of Hormuz To Reopen This Week

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