Trump signs – President Donald Trump signed an initial agreement with Iran after leaders from both countries signed it, setting “immediate effect” terms that include Tehran diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the U.S.-backed sanctions waivers that allow Ir
At Versailles, amid the pages of history, President Donald Trump put his name on a new one—and in the same stroke, rewired the immediate math of the conflict with Iran.
The agreement. signed by leaders from both countries and described as taking “immediate effect. ” calls for a permanent end to hostilities and launches a 60-day negotiating clock aimed at reaching a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—who helped mediate the agreement—said the pact took effect right after the signing.
Trump signed a physical copy on 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. When he stepped away from the table. Trump told reporters. “It’s signed.” He said that as he left the dinner following his trip to the Group of Seven summit in France.
A video posted online by a White House aide showed Trump seated next to Macron as he signed. Trump then handed the document and pen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio as people in the room applauded. Earlier. Trump said. “This was not easy. ” right before he signed it. according to a video posted to social media by Macron. In Tehran. President Masoud Pezeshkian signed on behalf of Iran. with images released by the state-run IRNA news agency showing him holding the signed agreement with Trump’s signature.
But even as the deal moved quickly from draft to signature, key details remained difficult to pin down. Text of the agreement still has not been formally released. For days of secrecy, U.S. officials refused to disclose the terms even after saying Trump and Vice President JD Vance digitally signed it over the weekend. The U.S. did dictate draft language to journalists after days of secrecy, speaking on condition of anonymity. Iranian state TV later released text that largely tracked what the U.S. put out.
The document also closes one immediate window of uncertainty only to open another: hostilities would stop, negotiations would begin, and the agreement would still leave room—at least on paper—for the use of force.
The agreement calls for a permanent end to hostilities and restarts talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. It also reopens the Strait of Hormuz. a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure created a historic energy crisis. Under the terms. the strait opens without tolls for two months. but the deal does not preclude fees in the future. according to the drafts from both countries.
In return, the United States would waive—not eliminate—some wide-ranging sanctions against Iran. That distinction is central to what the U.S.-Iran agreement grants right away: it immediately allows Iran to sell its oil freely, a major concession from Washington.
The schedule underscores what makes the interim pact feel so consequential now. The deal has the shape of a bridge—restoring much of the prewar status quo—but it also strips the U.S. of leverage by offering oil access at the start of the 60-day negotiating clock. Only at the conclusion of the overall deal in 2015 were sanctions on Iran’s oil lifted.
The drafts also say the agreement will stop fighting and start negotiations, including restarting talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The deal further states that the U.S. will lift a blockade imposed on Iranian ports. It says the strait will return to its prewar traffic levels in 30 days. while acknowledging Iranian mines may need to be destroyed.
One of the most delicate and politically explosive parts of the agreement addresses Lebanon’s territorial integrity in the face of Israel’s invasion against the Hezbollah militant group. The agreement affirms a commitment to Lebanon’s territorial integrity. Israel, however, has maintained it will continue to defend itself and occupy vast swaths of Lebanon. Iran has said Israel must withdraw under the deal, a condition Israel has already rejected.
The stakes are sharpened by the fact that the war itself was tied directly to fears about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The U.S. and Israel went to war on Feb. 28 in part to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. Trump has cited a range of goals for that war. including at times vowing it would end Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and its support for Hezbollah and other proxy groups in the region. He also suggested it could lead to toppling the Iranian government.
The interim agreement falls short of all those goals. Even so, Trump called it “very strong” on Wednesday. At the same time, he left the deal vulnerable to a quick reversal, saying: “It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs.”
The immediate sanctions waivers and oil access extend beyond what Iran received under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers—an arrangement Trump abandoned in his first term, calling it the “worst deal ever.” The Islamic Republic maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Washington’s posture also matters for who may push back next. The accord is likely to 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 agreement Trump abandoned, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program and promised never to build an atomic weapon. The interim deal is structured differently, with terms that include Tehran diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The arrangement being discussed also goes beyond nuclear steps and into the broader economic picture. Major concessions—including full lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets—would happen gradually and be linked to progress in the nuclear talks. according to officials from Pakistan. a key mediator who outlined some of the deal’s major points on condition of anonymity.
Still, the benefits offered up front are immediate enough to shift bargaining power. Iran’s oil export revenues in 2024 were more than $46 billion. Iran’s 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 means the U.S. starts negotiations with less leverage than it had in the past.
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. with the schedule for that to be worked out later. Even with that. it far surpasses the 2015 deal. which only lifted some sanctions in exchange for Iran drastically reducing its enrichment and stockpile of uranium.
Beyond sanctions, the agreement would provide Iran with at least $300 billion to rebuild. That figure, described as extraordinary, appears dependent on the progress of further negotiations. Vice President JD Vance has said Gulf Arab nations would invest that amount. But the practical hurdle is obvious: 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.
For the global economy, the promise is straightforward: a path back to an open Strait of Hormuz. The deal provides a major win for the global economy through the reopening of a corridor that once saw a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas before the war began. Since then, Iranian attacks on shipping and threats to vessels effectively shut the strait.
The closure drove up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Iran had 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 never returned to levels before the war.
In the end, the agreement’s power lies in how quickly it changes what can happen next: hostilities would stop, oil could flow, and the Strait of Hormuz could reopen—while negotiations for a nuclear endgame begin behind the clock.
The question now is what comes after that clock expires, and whether Washington and Tehran treat this as a step toward a durable arrangement—or a temporary ceasefire that can break under pressure. What Trump signed at Versailles is not just paper. It’s time.
Gambrell reported from Dubai. Magdy reported from Cairo. 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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