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The Trump administration shared the details of the preliminary agreement to end the war with Iran on Wednesday, as President Trump took questions from reporters in Evian, France, at a press conference that capped off his visit to the G7 summit.
Senior administration officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, read the agreement in its entirety. Iran has not released any details yet. Trump had announced the two sides struck an agreement on Sunday but the specifics of the plan had not been made public until Wednesday — causing a lot of speculation and confusion about what is and isn’t outlined in the framework.
As expected, the entire document is fairly short and light on details, with much left to be sorted out in future negotiations.
According to the document read by a senior administration official, the U.S. and Iran declare “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts” — including in Lebanon. The two sides also promise “not to initiate” any further war or operation against each other.
It sets out a 60-day period — extendable if both sides agree — to negotiate a final deal.
Upon signing, which Trump says will take place in the coming days, the agreement says the U.S. will begin the removal of its naval blockade and will “fully end” the blockade within 30 days if a final deal is reached.
Iran, according to the agreement, will use its “best efforts” to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels traveling between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Those vessels would face “no charge” for 60 days.
The U.S. will work with regional partners to create a fund of up to $300 billion for reconstruction and economic development for Iran, according to the framework read aloud to reporters. Trump, during his press conference, said the U.S. would not be directly contributing to this fund, though he did say it may be possible for other countries to invest in Iran.
The U.S. will also lift its sanctions against Iran as a part of reaching a final deal, according to the agreement.
Finally, the framework read aloud says Iran will not “procure or develop nuclear weapons” and the U.S. and Iran will agree to develop a plan to deal with the enriched uranium that Iran has stockpiled deep underground.
The agreement also states that while sanctions will officially remain in place until a final deal is struck, the U.S. will issue waivers for the export of Iranian oil, petroleum and derivatives – including banking transactions, insurance and transportation.
The U.S. will also “make fully available” frozen or restricted Iranian funds when a final deal is struck.
Other issues to be negotiated in a final deal, according to the framework, are how to monitor implementation and future compliance.
Trump’s press conference in Evian was meandering, but on the agreement he said that Iran will “work closely” with the U.S. to turn over enriched material.
“When we have a chance, we’ll do it, but in the meantime, we have cameras on every inch of it. Nobody can do it, and if they do, we’ll hit them with Patriots,” Trump told reporters, referring to the military missiles.
He said the two sides would begin the technical discussions on the nuclear issues immediately and that any economic relief for Iran as a result of the deal would be “based on merit, and it won’t be from us.”
Trump painted the agreement as necessary for the economy.
“If we didn’t do this deal, we could have dropped more bombs for another three weeks, two weeks, four weeks, two years,” he said but added that if that happened, the Strait of Hormuz would not have reopened.
“You would never have success. Your market… would go down at levels that nobody ever saw before,” he said.
The U.S.-Israel-led war launched in late February rocked the global economy, sending oil prices and the cost of other goods surging. Polling consistently showed Americans disapproved of U.S. attacks on Iran, and Trump’s economic approval ratings tanked, even among his own base.
