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18-06-2026
WASHINGTON/ TEHRAN: US President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian have electronically signed a memorandum of understanding to end the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
Both sides say the deal is in effect, and US officials say it includes Iran not developing or buying a nuclear weapon, ending the war on all fronts and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli forces continue military operations in Lebanon despite its inclusion in the US-Iran MoU.
Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem has hailed the agreement as a “big victory” and said Lebanon’s negotiations with Israel should solely focus on “mutual security”.
What does the 14-point MoU entail?
Iran and the US declared “the immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” and committed not to initiate war or military operations against each other.
Upon signing, the US “will begin lifting its naval blockade” and fully end the embargo, and “during this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic being restored” by Iran.
Upon signing, Iran will make arrangements “for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”.
The US “undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least USD 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.
Conflict in Lebanon ‘far from over’ despite US-Iran MoU
So much has been destroyed in months of Israeli air strikes across southern Lebanon.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty, even though people have started to return to their towns and villages to try to pick up the pieces of their lives.
Israel is not happy with the fact that a Lebanon ceasefire has been included in an Iran-US memorandum of understanding. In fact, Israeli attacks continue in some areas in southern Lebanon, especially in the Nabatieh area.
Security sources are telling us that they believe the Israeli army wants to take more ground and to occupy more territory; territory that it was not able to take during weeks of fighting, strategic high grounds, like the Ali Tahar Hills.
Israeli strikes also killed four people on Tuesday, so people are concerned about whether Israel will adhere to the ceasefire this time around. It’s not the first time a ceasefire has been declared in Lebanon.
There’s also the question of Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, where dozens of villages are no-go areas civilians cannot return to them, tens of thousands of them and Israel has really destroyed much of those villages, levelled them to the ground.
While there are efforts to freeze this conflict in one way or another, it is far from over.
Ghalibaf says Iran engaging with US from position of ‘strength’
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, says Tehran is engaging diplomatically with the US from a position of strength.
In an interview with Iran’s Press TV, Ghalibaf, who also serves as speaker of parliament, said that Iran’s “battlefield victory” had provided the backdrop to the talks.
“The difference between the current negotiations and previous periods is that today, this banner of battlefield victory, which both enemies and friends have acknowledged, serves as the backing for negotiations,” Ghalibaf said. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
