US and Iran sign initial deal to end war, ease sanctions and open strait
as nuclear talks continue
[June 18, 2026]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE, MATTHEW LEE, JON GAMBRELL, SAMY
MAGDY and MIKE CATALINI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran
on Wednesday that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly
enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country,
immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession
from Washington, according to details released by both countries.
The initial deal to end the war takes “immediate effect” after leaders
from both countries signed it, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,
who helped mediate the agreement, said online.
The agreement calls for a permanent end to hostilities and starts a
60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran's
nuclear program, though Trump left the door open to resume attacks. It
appears to offer Iran several benefits up front while extracting little
in return.
The deal has been shrouded in secrecy and confusion for days. U.S.
officials refused to disclose the terms even after saying Trump and Vice
President JD Vance digitally signed it over the weekend. Trump signed a
physical copy Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel
Macron at Versailles, the palace where many historic agreements have
been signed over the centuries, ending wars or territorial disputes.
The White House had planned a signing ceremony on Friday in Switzerland,
but its fate is now uncertain, with conflicting information from the
U.S., Iran and Pakistan.
“It’s signed,” Trump said as he left the dinner at Versailles, which
followed his trip to the Group of Seven summit in France.
In a video posted online by a White House aide, Trump was seen seated at
a table next to Macron signing a paper copy of the agreement. Trump then
handed the document and pen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio as people
in the room applauded.
“This was not easy,” Trump said right before he signed it, according to
a video posted to social media by Macron.
In Tehran, a stone-faced President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the deal on
behalf of Iran, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, which
posted an image of him holding up the deal with his signature and
Trump’s.
Text of the agreement still has not been formally released by the
Americans. U.S. officials dictated draft language to journalists after
days of secrecy, speaking on condition of anonymity. Iranian state media
has released text that largely tracked what the U.S. put out.
The deal will stop the fighting and start more negotiations
Much of the agreement would restore the status quo before the war,
including ending hostilities, restarting talks between the U.S. and Iran
over Tehran’s nuclear program, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the
crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure
created a historic energy crisis.
The agreement opens the strait without tolls for two months, but does
not preclude fees in the future, according to the drafts from both
countries.
In return, the U.S. will move to waive, but not eliminate, some
wide-ranging sanctions against Iran.
The deal also affirms a commitment to Lebanon’s territorial integrity in
the face of Israel’s invasion against the Hezbollah militant group. That
is one of the most delicate parts of the agreement because Israel has
maintained it will continue to defend itself and to occupy vast swaths
of Lebanon. Iran has said Israel must withdraw under the deal, a
condition Israel has already rejected.
The U.S. and Israel went to war Feb. 28 in part to prevent Iran from
ever getting a nuclear weapon. Trump has cited various goals for the
war, including at times vowing it would end Iran’s nuclear and missile
programs and its support for Hezbollah and other proxy groups. He also
suggested it could lead to toppling the Iranian government.
The interim deal falls short of all those goals, but Trump hailed it as
“very strong.”
He also opened the door to abandoning it: “It’s a memorandum of
understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at
them, dropping bombs.”
The U.S. agreement to immediately allow Iran to sell its oil freely and
the offer to eventually lift all sanctions are major concessions that go
beyond the terms of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Trump
withdrew America from that Obama-era pact in his first term, declaring
it the “worst deal ever.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by French President Emmanuel
Macron and and first lady Brigitte Macron as he arrives at the
Palace of Versailles, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Versailles,
France. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, though it is the
only country to enrich uranium to 60% purity without a weapons
program, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The
interim deal calls for the IAEA to monitor the “downblending” of
that uranium in Iran, without elaborating.
The accord likely will draw intense opposition in Washington, and it
appears to be a major setback for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, who has come under criticism at home from the media, his
opponents and even some allies as details emerge.
Under the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran that Trump pulled
out of, Iran also agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program and
promised never to build an atomic weapon in exchange for the lifting
of economic sanctions.
Major concessions have been offered to Iran
Some concessions to Iran — including the full lifting of sanctions
and the release of frozen assets — would happen gradually and be
linked to progress in the nuclear talks, according to Pakistani
officials. They outlined some of the deal’s major points on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
But in the meantime, the U.S. will issue waivers to sanctions that
allow Iran to sell oil freely.
The Islamic Republic's oil export revenues in 2024 were more than
$46 billion. Its main buyer of oil, China, is believed to have
bought at below-market prices because of its willingness to ignore
the sanctions.
Granting oil waivers at the start of the 60-day talks strips the
U.S. of a major point of leverage. Only at the conclusion of the
overall deal in 2015 were sanctions on Iran's oil lifted.
The interim deal also opens the door to ending all sanctions Iran
faces from the U.S. and at the U.N. — including those over Tehran’s
weapons programs and human rights abuses — though it says the
schedule for that will be worked out later. Still, that far
surpasses the 2015 deal, which only lifted some sanctions in
exchange for Iran drastically reducing its enrichment and stockpile
of uranium.
The accord would also provide Iran with at least $300 billion to
rebuild — an extraordinary figure and another major benefit for
Iran. The money also appears dependent on the progress of further
negotiations.
Vance has said Gulf Arab nations would invest that amount. But Gulf
countries would likely be reluctant to help Iran after Iranian
attacks in the war destroyed oil facilities and other sites in their
territory.
Trump reiterated Wednesday that the U.S. would not contribute and
said it was up to other countries if they wanted to invest.
The pact would provide relief to the global economy
The initial deal provides a major win for the global economy — the
reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian
Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas once
passed before the war began. Since then, Iranian attacks on shipping
and the threat to vessels effectively shut the strait.
The strait's closure drove up energy prices around the world and
made many basics, including food, more expensive. Iran let through
some vessels that paid tolls, something never done before in the
strait, which has long been considered an international waterway.
The U.S. later provided military support to get other tankers out,
but traffic was nowhere near levels before the war.
The deal also says the U.S. will lift a blockade imposed on Iranian
ports and that the strait will return to its prewar traffic levels
in 30 days, while acknowledging Iranian mines may need to be
destroyed.
___
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Magdy reported
from Cairo and Catalini reported from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Evian-les-Bains, France,
Darlene Superville in Geneva, Angela Charlton in Paris and Munir
Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this story.
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