Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles in France, June 17, 2026
EA on International Outlets: US-Iran — The “Deal” That Is Not A Deal
UPDATES: US-Israel Wars, Day 111 — Framework Deal Between Iran and US — But What Are The Terms?
UPDATE 2227 GMT:
The Israeli Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter has posted, “Israel remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire. If Hezbollah honours the agreement and ceases its hostilities, they will be met with quiet.”
UPDATE 1514 GMT:
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has said, “Given that the signing of the text of the Memorandum of Understanding was done digitally on June 18, there is no urgency to hold the said meeting in Switzerland, but we are planning to hold a meeting in the coming days.”
UPDATE 1500 GMT:
The Lebanese Health Ministry has updated the toll from Israel’s attacks today to at least 47 people killed, including seven women and two children, and 97 wounded.
The daily toll is the second-highest during the US-Israel Wars.
The deadliest attack was in Harouf, where nine people, including three women, were killed and 14 others were wounded.
The Ministry reports that 3,980 people have been killed and 12,001 wounded by Israeli attacks since March 2.
UPDATE 1450 GMT:
A “senior US official” claims that “Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire” which began at 4 p.m. local time (1300 GMT).
Two Hezbollah sources said they implemented the halt, but a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said it will “carry on with its mission until ordered otherwise”.
The IDF said it launched more than 150 strikes in Lebanon since midnight, while Lebanese health service said at least 21 people have been killed and 39 injured by Israeli attacks today.
UPDATE 1123 GMT:
Speaking about the killing of four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon (see 0833 GMT), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed that the Israeli military will establish a zone of occupation.
“Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as required to protect the settlements in the north,” Netanyahu declared.
He said, “I instructed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] last night to strike Hezbollah with full force…..Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier, “The IDF will remain in the security zone in Lebanon, from the coastline to the heights of the Beaufort [Castle], to protect the northern communities, thwart threats, and destroy terror infrastructure in the area, both below and above ground.”
Hezbollah responded, “The Islamic Resistance will remain vigilant against any aggression. Its fighters will defend their land and people.”
UPDATE 0944 GMT:
Three people have been killed by an Israeli airstrike on town of Jamaliyah, near the city of Baalbek in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
UPDATE 0942 GMT:
At least 25 commercial vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, the highest number since April 18.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned crude oil tanker with three Japanese crew crossed the Strait and is now en route to Japan.
All Japan-linked vessels carrying Japanese crew have now exited the Persian Gulf, said Takaichi. However, 37 other Japan-linked vessels are still awaiting passage.
UPDATE 0939 GMT:
Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has posted:
As we have demonstrated throughout previous negotiations, we remain steadfast in respecting the established conditions and red lines, and in defending the interests of the Iranian nation.
If the enemy becomes excessive [in its demands], we have proven that we are ready to retaliate and will not hesitate to deliver a stinging response.
UPDATE 0833 GMT:
The Israeli military says four of its soldiers, including a tank battalion commander, were killed in southern Lebanon by a Hezbollah strike with a missile or drone.
The Israeli tank was struck near the village of Kfar Tebnit. Five other soldiers were wounded, one seriously, by a Hezbollah drone strike in the area.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded:
With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All “of Lebanon must burn.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed, “Time to speak with fire. To open the gates of hell.”
Israel is carrying out strikes in the eastern Bekaa valley this morning.
UPDATE 0617 GMT:
“Eight Iraqi sources” say that, during the US-Israel War, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps established secret cells in Iraq to carry out attacks on Gulf countries that host American forces.
Three of the sources said three or four cells, each comprising about 10 Iraqi Shia Muslim fighters, launched at least seven drone attacks from desert locations near the southern cities of Basra and Samawa on sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE between April 20 and May 17.
UPDATE, JUNE 19:
Iran has abruptly called off talks with the Trump camp, scheduled for Switzerland on Friday.
Iran’s Tasnim News said Iranian negotiators need to see signs of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding from the US. The Hezbollah outlet Al-Mayadeen said Tehran was delaying because of Israel’s ongoing attacks in Lebanon.
Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people while Hezbollah targeted Israel’s forces near the city of Nabatieh with rocket fire. The Lebanon group claimed it hit three Israeli tanks.
The staff of Vice President J.D. Vance, leading the US delegation, and journalists had gathered at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington for the trip. Dozens of White House officials, advance staffers and media were already in Switzerland.
The White House said after the postponement, “The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the Vice President is not departing tonight.” A spokesperson added that Washington looks forward to “beginning technical talks as soon as possible”.
UPDATE 1844 GMT:
US Central Command says it has ended the blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas: “American forces are not impeding the transit of vessels to or from Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”
Warships will remain in the area “to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect”.
UPDATE 1520 GMT:
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has cancelled the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony, which would have included Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in Geneva.
Ministry spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi said, “The proposed visit has been postponed as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has already been electronically signed, has entered into force, and is now under implementation.”
He said Pakistan would support the next phase of negotiations on several “technical-level” tracks.
UPDATE 1347 GMT:
At least seven vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz today.
Four cargo ships, a French-flagged LNG tanker and a Cook Islands-flagged bitumen tanker exited towards the Gulf of Oman. The Panama-flagged tanker Starway entered the Strait.
Before the US-Israel on Iran, around 135 ships moved through the Strait each day.
UPDATE 1338 GMT:
Three people have been killed by Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.
Two were slain by a drone attack on a car in Kfar Tebnit, a village near the city of Nabatiyeh. The other was killed by a drone in the nearby village of Zebdine.
UPDATE 0827 GMT:
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says Israeli forces must withdraw from southern Lebanon.
Baghaei said continued Israeli occupation would lead to the “annulment” of Iran’s memorandum of understanding with the US.
He said implementation of the memorandum and a final agreement means the complete cessation of attacks and the end of the occupation”.
It was not acceptable for us to abandon our brothers in Lebanon. As for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, as you know, we mean to end the war and put a definitive and sustainable end to it.
UPDATE 0823 GMT:
One person has been killed by an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon.
The Israelis attacked a car near Kfar Tebnit, near the city of Nabatiyeh and Israel’s military operations.
UPDATE 0657 GMT:
More evidence of the widening division between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu….
In a recent phone call about Israel’s war in Lebanon, Trump urged Netanyahu to “stop blowing up buildings”. He expressed frustration to his advisors that Netanyahu wants to “bomb everyone”, said “a person who heard the remarks”.
A “senior official in the administration” said Trump has grown tired of the Prime Minister’s constant requests for military action.
Bibi tells the President why he needs to blow something up, and why Israeli intelligence knows how to do it, and when to do it, and the President listens.
The calls are usually the same.
In another call, Trump expressed concern that the economic consequences of war on Iran could link him to the failures of US President Herbert Hoover leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
UPDATE 0607 GMT:
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says that before Berlin can participate in any mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz, it will need a “permissive environment” – approval by Iran and Oman – as well as a parliamentary mandate.
Meanwhile, Germany has deployed two ships to the Red Sea to prepare for a possible mission.
UPDATE 0603 GMT:
An Israeli soldier has been killed and seven injured in southern Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces said Master Sergeant (Res.) Alexander Filin, 29, was killed in combat. Three of the injured are in “moderate” condition.
Filin was reportedly slain by a Hezbollah “explosive device”.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Conceding to many of Tehran’s conditions, Donald Trump has signed the Memorandum of Understanding ending the US war on Iran.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the document.
Trump, declared his digital signature last Sunday to the surprise of senior advisors whom he had not consulted. He signed in person on Wednesday during a dinner, following the G7 summit, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles.
Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to sign in a formal ceremony in Geneva on Friday.
Trump tried to cover his retreat by announcing a “great win” for the US. In fact, the 14-point document was based on an Irnaian document encompassing its demands.
The memo proclaims a ceasefire on all fronts, including Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. Iran’s pledges to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; however, in contrast to the pre-war status of transit under the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, Tehran intends to manage the waterway with Oman, collecting fees.
In return for the resumption of transit through the Strait, the US immediately lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Washington will issue sanctions waivers on Tehran’s oil, endorse the unfreezing of billions of dollars of Iranian asserts held abroad, and support a $300 billion fund for investment and reconstruction in Iran.
Contrary to spin by US officials that Iran had agreed to “destroy” its enriched uranium — and Trump’s earlier demand that the Iranians send all the fuel abroad — Tehran will downblend the uranium to a lower grade under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The details on Iran’s nuclear program will be left to a second stage in negotiations, following confirmation of the status of the Strait of Hormuz and the US financial arrangements benefitting Iran.
Trump effectively said that the economic consequences of the war had pushed him into acceptance of the terms: “The alternative would be a worldwide depression….The Strait would never have been opened.” He added, “There is nothing as smart as the market – and the market loves [the Memorandum].”
Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf celebrated, “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.”
Ghalibaf declared that, after the 60-day toll-free period stipulated in the Memorandum, Iran will charge for transit through the Strait. It “will not return to pre-war conditions,” he asserted.
Trump also conceded other significant points to the Iranians. Tehran kept any limitation of its ballist They have to have some, because other people have some. You got to have some. What am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them? Having repeatedly criticized the Obama Administration for the 2015 nuclear deal because it unfroze some Iranian assets, Trump defended the much larger return to Tehran under the Memorandum. We have taken a lot of their money. It’s not our money, it’s their money, and we froze it at a certain point in time. I guess we’re going to have to give it back. You know, if we didn’t give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again.
