Global markets soared after the tentative deal was announced, with a signing ceremony set for Friday in Switzerland.
Vance said in a CNBC interview that the short-term deal between the U.S. and Iran will “immediately” reopen the Strait of Hormuz and include a commitment from Iran to “never develop or procure a nuclear weapon.”
Iran would have to undergo a verification process to ensure it holds up its side of the deal, at which point the U.S. will lift sanctions, Vance said.
“We say to the Iranians, you are welcome to have access to an unsanctioned economy, you’re welcome to be re-invited into the world economy, but only if you honor the commitments that you make in this agreement,” he said. “So that’s the leverage point and simultaneously the enforcement mechanism we have over their nuclear program.”
The vice president also said that Iran has “committed to destroy and dispose of their stockpile of highly enriched material.”
Asked whether he believed the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened beyond the 60-day period laid out in the agreement, Vance said that “our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term.”
“That’s the sort of thing that we’re going to figure out in these technical negotiations,” he added.
Asked who would sign the agreement on Friday, Vance dodged the question, saying they “expect the negotiating team from the Iranian side is going to be the Speaker of the House Ghalibaf, and also the Foreign Minister Araghchi, along with a number of security officials and people who represent the different constituencies within their country.”
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called the deal with Iran “bad for Israel and the entire free world” as he suggested Israel would continue the campaign to overthrow the Iranian regime on its own.
“We will be tested in Lebanon,” Smotrich said in a post on X earlier today. “This is our war, our fighters, and the immediate security of the residents of our north.”
Israel said this morning its forces won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, while Tehran warned Israeli attacks there need to be completely halted.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group welcomed the agreement between the U.S. and Iran, describing it as a “great achievement” and praising the role of Iranian people and leadership in securing the deal.
In a statement issued today, the group thanked Iran for the “unwavering support of Lebanon, its people, and its resistance,” and for their insistence that Lebanon must be included in any agreement aimed at ending hostilities and preserving the country’s rights.
A man waves a Hezbollah flag in Tehran's Islamic Revolution Square yesterday. Vahid Salemi / AP
Hezbollah also called on Lebanese authorities and political factions to use the current regional and international support to strengthen the country’s sovereignty and secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The group urged residents seeking to return to southern border communities to “exercise patience and await instructions from the relevant authorities,” citing dangers from potential violations of the ceasefire by the Israeli military.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Pezeshkian just announced that “the memorandum of understanding to end the war between Iran and America is scheduled to be signed on Friday,” according to state media IRNA.
Pakistan had said the same but this is the first confirmation from Tehran.
The Lebanese army urged residents to “exercise caution” when returning to villages and towns near the country’s southern border following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.
In a post on X, the army warned that violations of the ceasefire and Israeli attacks remain a risk, and called on residents to “adhere to the directives of the deployed military units” in the area.
Iran has made an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon a key priority in talks, but Israel said this morning it would not withdraw from areas it has seized in Lebanon.
Displaced residents return to their villages today near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. Mohammed Anouti / AP
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said today it had received a report that a container vessel off the coast of Yemen was approached by a small skiff.
“The crew of the small skiff opened fire on the vessel and attempted to board,” the Royal Navy-backed organization said in a recent incidents update.
Egypt said the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran is “a highly significant development that will restore security and stability at both the regional and international levels.”
In a statement released today, Egypt’s foreign ministry said it hopes the agreement will mark a “major turning point” toward strengthening trust, advancing diplomacy and improving stability across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia also welcomed the agreement, saying it appreciates the efforts taken by the mediator countries and “the positive response of the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran to these efforts.”
The deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz does not mean an immediate surge in traffic for ships carrying much-needed global supplies of energy, fertilizer and other goods, analysts have cautioned.
“Even if the Strait is considered reopened, this does not automatically mean traffic will normalize immediately,” Dimitris Ampatzidis, Maritime Risk & Compliance Manager at Kpler, told NBC News this morning.
The analyst added that around 500 vessels were in the strait at the time of writing, and that it would take roughly two or three months to return to prewar movement.
Looking at Marine Traffic, a vessel-tracking website, only four vessels crossed the waterway yesterday, and at 4 a.m. ET this morning it appears that one tanker only, the Disha, had crossed it.
“The key point is that the strait may reopen quickly from a political or security perspective, but the commercial shipping system is likely to normalize gradually. We would also remain cautious given how fragile the wider regional situation still appears,” Ampatzidis said.
Trump will touch down in France today for a summit meeting with allies who are at odds with him over a pair of wars: one they don’t believe he should have started, and another they want him to do more to stop.
Trump will spend two days at the Group of Seven (G7) meeting of advanced democracies in the resort town of Evian-les-Bains, in which both the Iran war and Russia-Ukraine conflict figure to loom large.
Read the full story here.
On the streets of the Iranian capital, residents responded to the initial agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
Washington and Tehran have made significant progress toward a settlement but peace remains fragile, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said this morning.
“In short, peace is still fragile. However, the extensive work carried out by both sides, together with the mediators, to draft such a preliminary memorandum provides grounds, if it is ultimately signed, for efforts to restore peace in the Middle East to continue,” Naryshkin told Russian state news agency Tass.
Russia, a strong ally of Iran, has itself been mired in a war with Ukraine for more than four years, with the U.S.-led negotiations to settle the conflict currently stalled amid the Trump administration’s focus on the Middle East.
Qatari mediators have left Tehran after 17 hours of intensive negotiations, a regional diplomat briefed on developments tells NBC News.
A deal has been reached, and separate preparatory meetings with each side will now take place in Doha this week, ahead of the official signing in Switzerland and the start of the technical talks.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the agreement was very significant, adding that he had discussed the agreement with Trump on Saturday.
“Obviously, nothing is guaranteed, but it is, I think, a significant breakthrough, a very significant breakthrough. Hopefully, something which as we work together we can turn into that enduring peace that we all want to see,” Starmer said today at a news conference.
The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world’s largest international shipping association, said this morning that it remains risky for vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz despite the agreement announced last night.
“The statements by the U.S. and Iran are currently unclear and do not offer sufficient information regarding key aspects such as timings and safe routes,” BIMCO said in a statement.
“Due to lack of details and a history of overly optimistic reassurances, we believe the security situation for the shipping industry remains volatile,” it added.
China welcomes the U.S. and Iran reaching an initial agreement and appreciates Pakistan’s mediation efforts, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters today during a regular news briefing.
“The Strait of Hormuz is an important waterway for international navigation. Restoring stability in the strait serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community,” he said.
“We hope that safe and free navigation in the strait will be restored at an early date.”
An Israeli official briefed on the matter told NBC News that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to seek a meeting with Trump in order to discuss the Iran deal that the president announced last night.
“Netanyahu is trying to arrange a meeting with President Trump to go there,” said an Israeli official briefed on the matter, speaking about potentially going to Washington.
It was first reported by CNN that Netanyahu was seeking a meeting with the president following the G7 summit.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this morning there is a need to stop “the aggression and destabilizing attacks” by Israel against Lebanon.
Araghchi was speaking during separate phone calls with his counterparts in Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
A heavily damaged building in the centre of Nabatieh, Lebanon this morning. Abbas Fakih / AFP via Getty Images
He also referred to United States’ responsibility for implementing the agreement, and thanked Turkey, Iraq and Egypt for their support of efforts to secure the deal, according to a post on his Telegram.
World share prices soared after the tentative deal was announced, while oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%, auguring likely early gains for Wall Street.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX advanced 1.7% to 25,066.48, while the CAC 40 in Paris also added 1.7% to 8,410.36.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8% to 10,553.18.
An agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran to end fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to President Donald Trump and Iranian officials.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
A signing was scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, Pakistan said.
Read the full story here.
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