America and Iran have signed a peace deal effective immediately ending hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, but mixed signals about the longevity of the agreement persist.
U.S. President Trump signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran at Palace of Versailles outside Paris, while Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed the agreement on Wednesday from Tehran.
A formal signing ceremony in Geneva with U.S. vice-president JD Vance is still scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) but Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said the agreement was taking “immediate effect” after being signed by both sides.
In a social media post he claimed “as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade.”
The 14-point MoU essentially amounts to a 60-day ceasefire agreement, to hold comprehensive nuclear and permanent peace talks with Iran; it takes in cessation of hostilities in Lebanon; and lifting of sanctions upon and promised reconstruction funds for Iran.
In the MoU Iran again undertakes not to build nuclear weapons, and consents to an on-site “down-blending” of its enriched uranium stockpile.
The agreement also allows free passage of ships for 60 days through the Strait of Hormuz; the wording stipulates “the full resumption of maritime traffic with no charge.”
But yesterday Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf claimed Iran would begin charging ships travelling through the waterway at the end of that period. He said the strait “will not return to prewar conditions.”
President Trump has previously said he will not accept tolls being imposed; he added: “We’re going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement. I don’t want them to. I want them to honour the agreement.”