Iran and the US agree to reopen Strait of Hormuz, talk further
Lebanese army officers stand as they cordon off the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, June 14, 2026.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
Amman, Jordan
The United States and Iran reached a deal Sunday to halt more than three months of war, but it did little to bring a permanent solution to a conflict that has rattled the global economy and tested the limits of American power.
The agreement, a memorandum of understanding, establishes a 60-day ceasefire across the Middle East, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, ends dueling Iranian and American blockades of the waterway, and releases billions in frozen Iranian funds.
A signing ceremony is expected on Friday, June 19. The U.S. and Iran are then to engage in technical discussions to reach a final agreement over Iran鈥檚 nuclear program and U.S. sanctions, Pakistani mediators say.
Why We Wrote This
The United States and Iran have agreed to open the critical waterway that has rattled the global economy and enter into a 60-day ceasefire. The accord brings relief, but the thorniest issues at the root of the conflict remain to be resolved.
鈥淪hips of the World, start your engines,鈥� President Donald Trump wrote of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in a post on Truth Social. 鈥淟et the oil flow!鈥�
Iran鈥檚 Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed to Iranian state TV early Monday morning local time that the agreement was reached. He said that a formal ceremony Friday would include the heads of the two delegations to determine the framework for the next stage of negotiations.
The deal was almost upended earlier in the day when Israel conducted missile strikes on what it claimed to be a command center run by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, in Beirut. Iran vowed a military response.
The U.S. 鈥渆ither lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability鈥� to commit to a ceasefire, Iran鈥檚 top negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in a statement posted on the social platform X on Sunday, throwing the deal into doubt for much of the day.
Amid signals Iran would refuse to sign, President Trump issued a statement saying Israel鈥檚 鈥渁ttack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran,鈥� and he called on all sides to 鈥渟tand down.鈥�
The disruption triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity by Qatar, Pakistan, and Egypt.
The final agreement, according to Pakistan, includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has conducted an offensive that has displaced 1.4 million people, one-fifth of the country鈥檚 population. That invasion has been spurred by Hezbollah targeting northern Israel with rockets.
Mr. Gharibabadi, the Iranian聽deputy foreign minister, claimed that threats issued by Iran鈥檚 armed forces to retaliate against Israel 鈥渉elped facilitate progress in the negotiations.鈥�
A short-term truce was agreed to by Iran and the U.S. on April 8, yet retaliatory attacks by each side, duel blockades of the strait, and Israel鈥檚 offensive on Lebanon had continued through Sunday.
For now, the deal does little to resolve root grievances between Washington and Tehran.
The U.S., with the participation of Israel, launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28 with the stated goals of denying Iran a nuclear weapon, obliterating Iran鈥檚 ballistic missile program, destroying its navy, defeating its proxies like Hezbollah, and, according to President Trump, effecting 鈥渞egime change鈥� in Tehran.
The deal calls for the two to discuss Iran鈥檚 nuclear program over the next two months. Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Israeli government officials have so far been muted in their reaction. But leading up to the deal, a Pew poll showed that three-quarters of Israelis agreed with the U.S. decision to attack Iran. On social media, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called news of the deal 鈥渙ne of the most shocking failures of Israel鈥檚 foreign and security policy.鈥澛�
Today, a hard-line theocratic regime remains in Tehran with an iron grip 鈥� its ballistic missile program, drone manufacturing capabilities, and launchers largely intact. The U.S. retains a military presence and supremacy in the Middle East, which Tehran failed to dislodge by striking Gulf states hosting U.S. troops. As was the case before the war, Iran鈥檚 economy is in ruins and hyperinflation is setting in across the country.
The Strait of Hormuz, the reopening of which is expected Friday, was open and functioning normally prior to the war.
The war has cost tens of billions of dollars and thousands of lives, spurred a global energy crisis, and upended regional alliances. The agreement reached by Washington and Tehran on Sunday effectively restores a status quo strikingly similar to the one that existed before the war that President Trump said would ensure Iran would 鈥渘ever obtain a nuclear weapon.鈥�