Trump may release US-Iran deal before Friday, Vance says

Donald Trump may decide to release a preliminary deal to end the war with Iran before Friday, US Vice-President JD Vance says, after the US president said the agreement had already been signed.

Vance has described the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran as "about a page and a half" and a "very general" document. Senior US officials have also begun giving some details about the deal, briefing that the Strait of Hormuz would re-open on Friday - the same day the deal is formally inked in Geneva.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed a new round of negotiations on reaching a final peace deal with the US would begin in Switzerland the same day.

On Monday, during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said: "I am very happy to say it's signed, the deal is all signed", referring to the preliminary agreement. US officials said it had been signed electronically by Trump, Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Vance told NBC News that nuclear inspectors would "absolutely" be allowed back into Iran as part of the deal. "One of the core parts of the agreement is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile - and that's something that's spelled out very clearly."

The deal will extend a ceasefire for another 60 days, during which the sides will negotiate details of a final agreement. Announcing the breakthrough on Sunday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose nation had been mediating, said it included "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".

The US officials said that while Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire framework, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory was not a condition of the deal. Israel would retain the right to self defence, they added.

Trump on Sunday said he had ordered the immediate removal of a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and added that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened when the initial agreement was signed. He claimed on social media that "ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz".

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the end of military operations in a phone call on Iranian state TV, which portrayed the framework deal as a victory for Iran. Gharibabadi said that Qatari mediators held "nearly 14 to 15 hours of lengthy talks" in Tehran to reach the initial agreement.