Revealed: US-Iran deal includes $425 billion fund, immediate end to oil sanctions

Washington: The United States will immediately waive restrictions on Iranian oil exports and ultimately lift all sanctions, as well as help create a $US300 billion ($425 billion) development fund for Iran, under President Donald Trump’s deal to end the war.

It also says Iran and Oman will “define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz” in discussion with other Gulf countries, potentially ceding power over the crucial waterway to two states which have countenanced imposing tolls.

The full text of the agreement, which was kept secret for days, was dictated to reporters by US officials on a call on Wednesday (US time), just as Trump trumpeted the success of the war at a press conference at the G7 in France.

Trump personally signed the agreement on Wednesday night, a US official confirmed, while Iran’s foreign office said President Masoud Pezeshkian had also signed. Previous plans were for the document to be signed at a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday.

Under the deal, Iran “reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons”. The US and Iran will hold further discussions on how to dispose of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, which, at a minimum, will involve down-blending the material on-site under supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We will push for more than that,” a senior US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to explain the deal. “But the fact that they’re conceding to that is a major, major win for the United States of America.”

Military operations will cease “on all fronts, including in Lebanon”, and both parties will “refrain from the threat or use of force against each other”, while also ensuring Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

The US will immediately wind down its naval blockade of Iranian ports and fully end the blockade within 30 days. Iran, meanwhile, would “make arrangements using its best efforts” to provide safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz with no charge “for 60 days only”.

The agreement says long-term management of the strait will be subject to dialogue between Iran and Oman, along with Gulf countries that border the waterway.

Defending that clause, the senior US official said while the Iranians would aggressively assert their rights during negotiations about the long-term future of the strait, Gulf countries would never agree to any arrangement that did not permit toll-free access.

Under the deal, the US agreed that with its regional partners, it will “develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least $US300 billion fo