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.
Visuals of Trump before signing the deal, have been makimg rounds. Trump is seen, holding a pen in one hand, saying the leaders sitting with him that it was not easy for him to finalize the deal. In the video, French President Macron is seen sitting next to Trump, while Marco Rubio is seen standing behind his boss and guests applaud as Trump signs the deal.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, confirming the signing said -” The text of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was finalised with the signatures of the presidents — now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement.”
According to Iran’s chief negotiator the deal with Washington to end the Middle East war was a ‘failure’. “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state TV late Wednesday after the text was released by both sides. He asserted that Tehran would charge ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz after a 60-day fee-free period stipulated in a memorandum of understanding with the US. In an interview, he said– “Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions”, adding: “Iran has the right to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and of course we will receive a fee for services.”
Speaking at a press conference at the Group of Seven conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, Trump told reporters he was grateful to the leaders for staying out of the conflict.
“I want to thank China, President Xi. I was with him, and he stayed neutral, totally neutral, and I appreciate it,” Trump said. “And I want to thank Vladimir Putin, he was very neutral. They could have made it much more difficult for us.”
As the signing was underway Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on several areas in south Lebanon.
According to state media, Israeli warplanes launched raids targeting the Nabatieh al-Fawqa area and the eastern outskirts of neighbouring town Kfar Tebnit. They also launched a drone strike on the town of Ansariyeh in the Zahrani area.