U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal leaks as oil waivers start

Strait of – Leaked interim documents for a U.S.-Iran deal to end the war suggest Washington would help rebuild Iran with at least $300 billion and allow Iran to sell oil without restrictions immediately, while the most sensitive nuclear steps would be negotiated over the

By the time diplomats in Switzerland prepare for a ceremony on Friday, the economic bargaining—at least in the interim—has already begun.

Leaked copies of a tentative U.S.-Iran agreement describe a fast track for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restarting Iran’s oil sales once the deal is formally signed. Iran. the documents say. would immediately take steps to reopen the strait after the agreement is signed. and would be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions. The accord. officials say it broadly matches the leaked interim text. is scheduled to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.

The documents also lay out what the U.S. would provide in the early phase: at least $300 billion to rebuild Iran after the war, and a U.S. commitment to work to end all American and United Nations sanctions imposed on Tehran if a final agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program is reached.

That combination—oil access on day one. and rebuilding funds on an accelerated timeline—puts this interim agreement sharply beyond the concessions made under Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Then, the U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in his first term, calling it “the worst deal ever.”.

In Washington, the leaked terms are expected to draw intense criticism. The documents are also likely to intensify pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. who launched the war with Trump on Feb. 28, as questions sharpen over how quickly Iran receives relief relative to what comes later.

One of the most delicate pieces of the interim accord is tied to Lebanon. The deal calls for an immediate end to all fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. Israel has maintained it will continue to defend itself and occupy vast swaths of Lebanon. Iran. according to the leaked versions. said it must withdraw under the deal. but the leaked documents make no mention of withdrawal.

Behind the ceasefire framework, the agreement turns on a new 60-day negotiating track. The two sides are to start 60 days of negotiations over a final deal that the Trump administration insists will prevent Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon. The structure of the offer appears designed to entice Iran to reach an agreement—while Iran appears to gain concrete benefits immediately. with many nuclear-related concessions tied to future steps.

Several parts of the interim deal would restore the status quo before the war. That includes ending hostilities and reopening the strait. The Strait of Hormuz is described in the leaked material as a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas; its closure created a historic energy crisis.

When traffic through the strait was disrupted. energy prices rose around the world. and many basics—including food—became more expensive. Iran also let out some vessels that paid tolls, something never done before in the strait. The strait sits in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman and long has been considered an international waterway. The U.S. later provided military support to get other tankers out, but the flow was nowhere near prewar levels.

The leaked agreement says the deal calls for the U.S. to lift a blockade imposed on Iranian ports. It also says the strait is to return to its prewar traffic levels in 30 days, while acknowledging Iranian mines may still be in its waters that need to be destroyed.

Even as the agreement gestures toward future leverage, it also shifts weight immediately. The leaked interim terms say the U.S. will issue waivers on Iranian oil sales right away, even though the eventual lifting of sanctions will depend on future negotiations.

Granting oil waivers at the start of the 60-day talks, the leaked terms imply, strips the U.S. of a major point of leverage. In the years before the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranian oil faced international sanctions limiting their sales. and those restrictions were lifted only at the conclusion of the overall deal in 2015.

The interim framework also points beyond that earlier settlement. It opens the door to ending all sanctions Iran faces from the U.S. and at the U.N., while saying the schedule for that will be worked out later. The interim deal goes further than the 2015 accord in the way it describes the scope of potential relief: in 2015. only some sanctions were lifted in exchange for Iran reducing its enrichment and stockpile of uranium.

There is another economic benefit built into the interim arrangement: the agreement would provide Iran with at least $300 billion to rebuild after an intense U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign. U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said Gulf Arab nations would provide that amount as investments in Iran.

What stays unresolved is just as clear. The interim agreement sets a 60-day window—extendable—to negotiate over limiting Iran’s nuclear program. Trump’s second administration, according to the leaked material’s description, had already held multiple rounds of talks without success. Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful. and the text says it has enough highly enriched uranium to build multiple atomic bombs. should it choose to do so. according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In the interim deal. Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. a promise it made in the 2015 nuclear accord. Iranian diplomats have long pointed to statements from the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Iran wouldn’t build an atomic bomb. It remains unclear whether Khamenei’s son, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will follow that.

The leaked terms also fall short of some of Trump’s shifting stated goals for the war. At various times. Trump has said it would end Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and its support for Hezbollah and other proxy groups in the region. He has also suggested it could lead to toppling the Iranian government. The interim agreement, as described in the leaked text, does not lock those outcomes in.

The negotiations also exposed a rift between Netanyahu and Trump. the Israeli leader’s closest and most important ally. just as Netanyahu is seeking reelection. Netanyahu has faced heavy domestic criticism over the emerging deal. but the leaked material says he will be hard pressed to go against Trump because Israel relies heavily on U.S. diplomatic and military support.

The documents themselves appear to have traveled quickly. A person who was briefed on the memorandum of understanding after it was signed and another who viewed a copy beforehand said it largely matched the text of what was published by the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. which reported details of the deal Tuesday. Two people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions. Another two officials in the Mideast also said the versions published by Al Arabiya and Bloomberg broadly matched the final agreement.

The White House and other American officials have not published the terms and did not immediately respond to questions. Iran has not published an official version either. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency. close to its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. claimed Wednesday that Bloomberg’s version had missing portions. without offering a full accounting.

In the meantime, the economic signal in the leaked agreement is hard to miss: the strait that underpins global energy flows would be reopened, Iran’s oil sales would be unblocked through waivers, and rebuilding money would be promised—before the most consequential nuclear decisions are finalized.

U.S.-Iran deal Strait of Hormuz Iranian oil sanctions relief Hezbollah Lebanon ceasefire nuclear negotiations interim agreement $300 billion rebuilding Switzerland signing