Vice President JD Vance said a 60-day preliminary ceasefire extension between Iran and the United States was signed digitally ahead of in-person meetings to sign the deal in Europe later this week.“We already signed the deal digitally yesterday,” Vance told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday about the memorandum of understanding. “And there’s been no money released, and that won’t change.” The formal signing of the peace deal is expected to take place on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, with Vance in attendance on behalf of the U.S.
Comprehensive details about what is included in the deal have not been released, but reports about payments to Iran have sparked controversy. Points of the deal that are public include the U.S. ending its naval blockade of Iran, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the end of fighting between the nations, including attacks from Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has suggested that half of the $24 billion in frozen assets will be released before the next phase of nuclear negotiations can begin.
“This is a performance-based thing,” Vance said. “If we see the Iranians making, for example, taking action to eliminate their stockpile of enriched material, then yes, sanctions relief will follow. If we see the Iranians taking action to allow the kind of verification regime that we need to see to know that they’re not going to build a nuclear weapon. Yes, sanctions … relief will follow.”
