The memorandum of understanding aiming to end the war in the Gulf has already been signed by US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and the speaker of Iran’s parliament who heads its negotiating team, a US official said on Monday.There was no immediate response from Tehran to the report that the agreement, which both sides announced overnight, had already been signed. Previous reports from both sides had suggested it would be signed officially at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday.
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In an early reminder of the agreement’s fragility, Israel - which launched the war alongside the United States in February and was not consulted on the talks to end it - struck a car with a drone in southern Lebanon, where it has been battling the Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement. Iran has said the deal must bring a full cessation of hostilities there.The terms of the memorandum of understanding, reached after more than two months of negotiations, have yet to be published. The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he expected the terms would be made public in the next 24-48 hours.Oil prices tumbled on the prospect of an end to disruption to global energy supplies, and share prices soared, some hitting new records.Trump, who had earlier said the blockaded Strait of Hormuz would be open on Friday, said on Monday that ships had already begun transiting it. However, the US military told shippers it had not yet lifted its blockade of Iranian ports.
