TEHRAN - The United States and Iran announced a deal to end the Middle East war on all fronts and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, sparking relief Monday after months of deadly violence and global economic chaos.
The US and mediator Pakistan said the agreement was to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, with Saudi Arabia and other regional powers hailing the deal while ordinary Iranians voiced hope it could restore calm.
Few details were made public, but US President Donald Trump said Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil supplies that Iran has blockaded since the start of the war, would reopen.
"The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," US President Donald Trump said on Sunday. "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!"
Soon afterwards, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in televised comments that the deal put an "immediate end" to the war and that they would hold talks within two months to seek a "final agreement."
Iran's military hailed the agreement as a victory, claiming that it had "humiliated" the US and Israel in the war that began on February 28 with their massive campaign of airstrikes.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz, however, said Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza indefinitely, despite the announcement that the deal would apply across all fronts, including in Lebanon.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are pursuing a clear policy under which the IDF will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an unlimited period of time, in order to protect the border and Israeli communities from there against jihadist elements," Katz said Monday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official source told AFP that Lebanese authorities had not been informed of details of the agreement.
- Terms unclear -
The deal follows weeks of fraught negotiations and periodic threats of fresh hostilities, but its details remain unclear.
Iran's Mehr news agency reported that the US would release $12 billion in frozen assets to Iran before the start of negotiations.
It quoted a 14-point "memorandum of understanding" between the two nations, which it said stipulated "the release of 24 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets during the 60‑day negotiation period" that begins after the MoU is signed.
The Trump administration didn't immediately comment on the details, which may prove contentious as the US presses its effort to end Tehran's nuclear ambitions and deal with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium -- said to have been buried by US strikes last year.
In an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, Trump said the US was still negotiating whether Iran would suspend its enrichment for 20 years.
He hinted that he might settle for a 15-year suspension, but said he did not want to negotiate via the press.
A diplomat told AFP on Monday that the US and Iran are to hold indirect meetings in Doha ahead of the formal signing of the agreement.
- 'Seize the moment' -
The announcement of the deal sparked relief in the region and beyond, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling it a "critical step" toward resolving the war.
"Once the war is over and the sanctions we had are lifted, I think it will be very good and I will be happy," Nastaran, a 29-year-old software engineer in Tehran told AFP.
Saudi Arabia, which Iran repeatedly targeted during the war, welcomed the deal, adding that a lasting agreement would be one that "takes into consideration the security interests of regional states".
Egypt said the deal could be a "turning point" while Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it a "historic step towards peace".
The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy said they were prepared to lift sanctions imposed on Iran and will work "with the US, Iran and regional partners to seize this moment, maintain momentum and achieve a long-term diplomatic settlement."
The announcement also brought relief at market opening on Monday. Oil prices plunged nearly five percent, with West Texas Intermediate approaching $80 a barrel for the first time since early March.
"What we're going to be able to do is drive down the cost of energy, not just now but for the long term, and create a real engine of prosperity in the Middle East," US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News.
He said that he planned to attend the signing of the deal, which was expected to take place in Geneva, and that it was possible Trump himself could also go.
