Middle East crisis live: agreement signed by US-Iran presidents; Tehran claims it will charge ships to transit strait of Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran

Robert Mackey

When he announced that the US and Israel had launched a war against Iran on 28 February, Donald Trump said one of the reasons the attack was necessary was that Iran had been “developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland”.

“We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” the president insisted. “It will be totally, again, obliterated.”

On Wednesday – 109 days later – Trump said it would be “unfair” for Iran to not have “some” ballistic missiles, telling reporters in Paris:

I’m saying that if other countries have them, it’s a little bit unfair for them not to have some. A ballistic missile is not the same things as what we’re talking about, when we talk nuclear. But if Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and they all have some, I would say, in relative proportion, I think it’s OK.

The US-Iran agreement calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and would waive sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to language released by both countries.

The deal’s text hasn’t yet been formally released but a draft read by US officials includes language that Iran agrees not to develop or procure nuclear weapons and requires that Iran’s highly enriched uranium be downgraded on site as a minimum, the Associated Press is reporting.

In return, the US will move to waive – but not eliminate – some wide-ranging sanctions against Iran.

Much of the agreement would restore the status quo before the war, including ending hostilities, reopening the strait of Hormuz and restarting US-Iran talks over Tehran’s nuclear program – and the deal appears to offer Iran several benefits up front while extracting little in return.

The US agreement to immediately allow Iran to sell its oil freely and the offer to eventually lift all sanctions represent major concessions that go beyond the terms of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the report says. Donald Trump withdrew the US from that Obama-era pact in his first term, declaring it the “worst deal ever”.

Iran is saying talks with the US set for Friday in Switzerland ⁠are now not ​confirmed.

Iranian foreign ⁠ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said early ⁠on Thursday, cited by Reuters:

The Friday ‌meeting was confirmed ‌until a few hours ago, but when it was decided that the ‌presidents of the two sides [Iran and ​the US] would sign the agreement, it was ⁠decided to pause consideration ​of the ​Friday meeting ​for now.

Earlier it was expected that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding would be officially signed at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday. But reports quoting both sides say presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian have now signed the MoU.

Analysis: Trump’s Iran deal is a result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war

Andrew Roth

As the adage goes: no plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy.

Donald Trump entered the war with Iran with maximalist goals: eliminating the country’s nuclear programme, destroying its ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional military groups including Hezbollah and Hamas.

He exits it with Iran’s word not to build a bomb and to hold further nuclear discussions, no mention in writing of the ballistic missile programme and with Hezbollah celebrating a “victory” as the memorandum of understanding (MOU) instituted a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has seized a swath of the country as a “buffer zone”.

Iran’s key asset ended up being the strait of Hormuz, the waterway that almost every previous simulation of the war predicated would be quickly cut off by Iran. To reopen the strait, the administration was forced to fold on its broader goals or face what Trump called a “worldwide depression”.

It has been clear for days that the Trump administration was skittish about putting out the text of its MOU. It was only finally read out by a senior administration official on a briefing call on Wednesday, and the White House still has not published a copy online.

The reasoning is clear: many in Trump’s own party will hate this deal. The outgoing US senator Bill Cassidy, of Maryland, called it the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.

The full analysis is here:

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson is also being quoted as saying that Iran must be able to sell its oil – with no problems around transport and insurance – and must receive the revenues from its oil sales.

More on the strait of Hormuz: Iran is saying it will “not return to prewar conditions” and that Tehran will charge ships to transit the waterway after a 60-day toll-free period stipulated in the memorandum of understanding.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei reportedly said the issue of the strait would be the responsibility of Iran and Oman.

Chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state television that the “strait of Hormuz will not return to prewar conditions”, adding:

Iran has the right to sovereignty over the strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services.

Donald Trump has previously said he would not accept tolls being imposed for crossing the vital energy route, through which about a fifth of global oil and LNG supplies usually travel. But in defending the US deal with Tehran, he said that if it was not struck the strait would “never have been opened” and a “worldwide depression” would result.

• Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war with Iran, a White House official told Reuters. The text of the agreement has been officially signed by the presidents of both sides, Iran state media reported, citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

• The deal for an immediate and permanent halt to military operations on all fronts, includes Lebanon. The deal commits both sides and their allies to cease hostilities and refrain from the threat or use of force against each other – though Israel retains the right to strike back if Hezbollah attacks.

• Israel has not been shown the final text of the MOU, according to its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, though senior US officials said he had been briefed consistently on its substance.

• Iran will not receive broad sanctions relief simply by signing. Senior officials were emphatic on a press call that sanctions removal is directly tied to nuclear performance. Iran has committed to destroying its enriched uranium stockpile at minimum through down-blending under IAEA supervision – a concession officials called “a major, major win”.

• The strait of Hormuz is set to reopen for toll-free commercial passage within 30 days. Iran had already stopped firing on vessels in the strait the day before the signing call – the first such pause in 100 days of conflict. One immediate upside for Tehran does kick in upon signing: a US treasury waiver on Iranian crude oil exports. Iran said it will charge ships crossing strait of Hormuz after 60 days, AFP reported.

• Both sides have 60 days to reach a final deal to be endorsed by a binding UN security council resolution. Senior US officials said the administration would know within “days or weeks, not months” if Iran was stalling – and was prepared to tighten economic pressure significantly if talks broke down.

Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war with Iran, a White House official told Reuters.

The text of the agreement has been officially signed by the presidents of both sides, Iran state media reported, citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

The US and Iran have signed the MOU for ending war electronically on Wednesday and it is now in effect, according to website Axios.

Iran said it will charge ships crossing the strait of Hormuz after 60 days, AFP reported.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, , Iran’s top negotiator, said in an interview aired on state television: “Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services.”