Iran, US agree to halt war and reopen Hormuz

The United States and Iran have reportedly agreed to terms to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, news that brought relief to markets — although the pact may hinge on an end to hostilities in Lebanon and defers talks on Tehran’s nuclear program.

While still a framework, the deal marked the biggest breakthrough towards resolving the conflict that has killed thousands and upended energy markets since it began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at around 5:30 p.m. in Washington on Sunday. His post came shortly after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has served as a mediator, announced a deal had been struck.

The memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland.

The precise terms were not immediately known. Sharif said in a post on X that the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

Leaders of the Group of Seven nations are due to arrive at a French lakeside resort on Monday, where Trump will be pressed for details.

While the U.S. and Iran had largely ceased hostilities as they engaged in weeks-long negotiations, Lebanon has suffered the deadliest spillover of the conflict. Some 1.2 million people have been uprooted by an Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.

Lebanon has been a persistent sticking point in talks, with Israel and Hezbollah ignoring calls from Trump and others to stop their attacks on each other, while Iran made a full ceasefire in Lebanon one of its demands.

The secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently starting on Monday night.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there must be a complete halt to Israeli attacks against Lebanon and wrote on Telegram that the U.S. bears responsibility for implementing the framework deal.

Hezbollah has not yet publicly commented on the U.S.-Iran deal, but Lebanese and foreign security sources told Reuters that the group had last fired at Israel before midnight on Sunday night and had not launched operations since then.

The pace of Israeli attacks has decreased dramatically, they added.

Before the memorandum was announced, Trump said he would bring peace to the region, including Lebanon, and that there should be no more Israeli attacks on Lebanon or Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond publicly to the U.S.-Iran agreement.

But Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would oppose any pressure to withdraw its forces from areas it is occupying in southern Lebanon.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump wrote.

Oil prices fell on the news, though shippers remained cautious and ensuring the waterway is clear of mines could take weeks. Brent crude futures fell some 5% on Monday while stock markets jumped.

The war has become a political liability at home for Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress, with Americans deeply frustrated by rising gas prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. But Trump has also faced pressure from members of his own party who insist that Iran’s nuclear program must be completely shut down.

During his first term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 multilateral Iran deal, negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama, that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program and international inspections.

Iran responded by ramping up its enrichment of uranium, producing ​more than 400 kg (around 900 pounds) of material at close to bomb-grade purity.

The agreement was sealed despite an Israeli strike on Lebanon on Sunday that drew criticism from both Iran and Trump.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said a more expansive agreement on the wider conflict would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period, including sanctions relief for Iran.

The fate of Tehran’s nuclear program, another thorny issue, will also be addressed in those later talks, sources previously told Reuters.

Leaders outside the Middle East welcomed the announcement.

In a joint statement, Britain, Germany, France and Italy said they were prepared to lift sanctions on Iran in response to “clear, verifiable steps” to limit its nuclear program.

China also welcomed the deal.

Before the deal was announced, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that, under the terms of the draft, the U.S. would agree to release $25 billion of frozen Iranian assets.

A U.S. official, also speaking before the announcement, said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed.

The senior Iranian official said the draft deal would allow Iran, which denies seeking a nuclear bomb, to dilute its enriched uranium inside the country.

据报道，美国和伊朗已就结束战争和重新开放霍尔木兹海峡达成协议，这一消息给市场带来了宽慰——尽管该协议可能取决于黎巴嫩敌对行动的结束，并推迟了关于德黑兰核计划的谈判。

虽然该协议仍处于框架阶段，但它标志着自今年 2 月美以联合袭击伊朗以来，在解决这场已造成数千人死亡并扰乱能源市场的冲突方面取得了最大突破。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周日下午5点30分左右在其“真相社交”平台上发文称：“与伊朗伊斯兰共和国的协议现已完成。”此前不久，巴基斯坦总理谢赫巴兹·谢里夫宣布双方已达成协议。巴基斯坦一直扮演着调解人的角色。

该谅解备忘录计划于周五在瑞士正式签署。

具体条款尚不清楚。谢里夫在X网站上发帖称，该协议要求“立即永久停止所有战线的军事行动，包括在黎巴嫩的战线”。

七国集团领导人将于周一抵达法国湖畔度假胜地，届时特朗普将被追问细节。

尽管美国和伊朗已基本停止敌对行动，并进行了长达数周的谈判，但黎巴嫩却遭受了这场冲突最惨重的后果。3月2日，以色列对伊朗支持的真主党发动进攻，真主党向以色列开火以声援德黑兰，导致约120万人流离失所。

黎巴嫩问题一直是谈判中的一个棘手问题，以色列和真主党无视特朗普和其他人要求停止相互攻击的呼吁，而伊朗则将黎巴嫩全面停火作为其要求之一。

伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书处表示，包括黎巴嫩在内的所有战线的战争和军事行动将从周一晚间开始永久结束。

伊朗外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇表示，以色列必须彻底停止对黎巴嫩的袭击，并在 Telegram 上写道，美国负有执行框架协议的责任。

真主党尚未就美伊协议公开发表评论，但黎巴嫩和外国安全消息人士告诉路透社，该组织最后一次向以色列开火是在周日午夜之前，此后没有发动任何行动。

他们还补充说，以色列发动袭击的频率已经大幅下降。

在备忘录公布之前，特朗普表示他将为包括黎巴嫩在内的该地区带来和平，并且以色列不应再对黎巴嫩发动袭击，真主党也不应再对以色列发动袭击。

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡尚未就美伊协议公开作出回应。

但以色列国防部长伊斯拉尔·卡茨表示，以色列将反对任何要求其从占领的黎巴嫩南部地区撤军的压力。

特朗普表示，霍尔木兹海峡（全球石油和天然气供应的主要航道，伊朗已将其封锁数月）将于周五重新开放，他还下令结束美国对伊朗港口的封锁。

“世界各国的船只，启动引擎。让石油流淌吧！”特朗普写道。

受此消息影响，油价下跌，但航运公司仍保持谨慎，确保航道内没有水雷可能需要数周时间。周一，布伦特原油期货下跌约5%，而股市则大幅上涨。

这场战争已成为特朗普及其共和党同僚在国内的政治包袱，在11月中期选举前夕，不断上涨的油价令美国民众深感不满。但特朗普也面临着来自党内其他成员的压力，他们坚持认为必须彻底关闭伊朗的核计划。

特朗普在其第一任期内，退出了由民主党总统巴拉克·奥巴马谈判达成的2015年伊朗多边协议。该协议解除了对德黑兰的制裁，以换取对其核计划的限制和国际核查。

伊朗的回应是加大铀浓缩力度，生产了超过 400 公斤（约 900 磅）接近武器级纯度的材料。

尽管以色列周日对黎巴嫩发动袭击，招致伊朗和特朗普的批评，但该协议最终还是达成了。

伊朗副外长卡齐姆·加里巴巴迪表示，将在为期 60 天的停火期内就更广泛的冲突达成更广泛的协议，其中包括解除对伊朗的制裁。

消息人士此前告诉路透社，德黑兰核计划的命运——另一个棘手的问题——也将在之后的会谈中得到解决。

中东以外的领导人对这一声明表示欢迎。

英国、德国、法国和意大利在一份联合声明中表示，如果伊朗采取“明确、可核查的措施”来限制其核计划，他们准备解除对伊朗的制裁。

中国也对该协议表示欢迎。

在协议宣布之前，一位伊朗高级官员告诉路透社，根据草案条款，美国将同意解冻价值 250 亿美元的伊朗资产。

一位美国官员在宣布该协议之前也表示，该协议最终将导致伊朗核计划的瓦解，其高浓缩铀库存将被销毁和移除。

这位伊朗高级官员表示，该协议草案将允许否认寻求拥有核武器的伊朗在国内稀释其浓缩铀。