ROME: Amid the grandeur of the Palace of Versailles on June 17, US President Donald Trump signed a preliminary agreement aimed at ending hostilities with Iran.
The memorandum of understanding — a nonbinding short-term framework stating each party’s intention to stop the war — promised to immediately halt military action, including in Lebanon, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the goal of finalizing a deal within 60 days.
The ceasefire set out in the MoU later collapsed, prompting the US to resume strikes on Iran.
Over the weekend, Trump again paused those strikes and returned to negotiations, telling reporters the US was “very close” to a deal, even as Tehran publicly denied any breakthrough.
According to a CNN tally, the announcement marked the 39th time the president has said his country was close to reaching a deal to end the fighting, or that Tehran was desperate to do so.
