A deal with the United States to end the war in Iran is close and would reopen the Strait of Hormuz alongside the lifting of the US naval blockade, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told state television, as a senior adviser to the supreme leader claimed President Donald Trump had separately agreed to unfreeze $24 billion in Iranian assets without formally announcing it.
Araghchi said in the Saturday briefing that the talks on Iran’s nuclear programme would begin only after the agreement was signed, and that the first point listed in the Memorandum of Understanding was the lifting of the US naval blockade. The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits — would “no longer be the same as before”, he said, with administration arrangements to follow. Iran has insisted on a transit fee for vessels crossing since it closed the Strait, while Washington has insisted passage remain free, Ada Derana reported, citing BBC.
The foreign minister acknowledged the deal still faces internal Iranian dissent. “There are supporters and opponents” of the terms inside Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, he said, adding that a collective decision had not yet been reached. “For now, we must wait. If approved, the agreement will be signed remotely … This could happen in the coming days. I am very hopeful.” Pakistan, which has helped mediate the talks throughout the war, said the MOU had been agreed and was awaiting finalisation, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirming the framework on Friday. Qatar has also assisted with mediation.
Speaking to reporters Saturday evening, Sharif sharpened that timeline, saying Washington and Tehran had now reached a final text and that “an electronic signing is expected within the next 24 hours”. The Pakistani prime minister said technical-level negotiations would follow next week to work out details, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. Neither the White House nor Iran’s leadership immediately confirmed the 24-hour signing window, and previous announcements of imminent breakthroughs during the conflict have failed to materialise. Regional officials familiar with the talks said the agreement is also expected to include phased sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian assets, with a formal signing ceremony possible in the coming days once both governments approve the final text.
US officials briefing journalists on Friday afternoon said the Hormuz reopening and blockade lift would take effect “more or less immediately” after signing, followed by a 60-day window of negotiation focused on Iran’s enriched uranium. That material would ultimately be destroyed on site and removed from the country, with the precise mechanism still to be worked out. Officials stressed there would be no upfront payment to Tehran — instead, a “staged reintegration” into the global economy with sanctions lifted and assets unfrozen incrementally, tied to verified performance on the deal’s terms, including a halt to Iranian funding for Hezbollah and other regional proxies.
In a parallel briefing carried by the Anadolu Agency, Mohsen Rezaei, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told a memorial ceremony in the south-western city of Dezful that Trump had agreed to unfreeze $24 billion in Iranian assets while avoiding an explicit confirmation, according to a report by the Fars News Agency. Rezaei claimed Iran’s recent conflict had “boosted” the country’s global standing and that “Trump the gambler” now feared negotiating with Tehran. A senior Trump administration official told reporters Friday the United States expected to sign an agreement ending the war “within the next few days”, leading to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The Saturday signals come a day after Trump told reporters at the Oval Office “we just made a great settlement”, with Iran’s spokesperson Esmail Baghaei calling the early reports “speculative” but acknowledging the memorandum had “never been closer”. Brent crude has plunged on the signing prospect after the rolling US-Iran exchange of fire this week, when Trump first cancelled scheduled strikes and announced the settlement framework. Reuters separately reported Friday that the document could be signed as soon as Sunday in Geneva, with Vice President JD Vance representing Washington alongside Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf.
Israel is not party to the memorandum, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office acknowledged Trump’s commitment to a final agreement covering enriched-material removal, dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, missile-production limits and a cessation of Iran’s regional proxy support. The US officials emphasised the MOU was based on “performance”, not “trust or promises” — Iran would only receive economic benefits after verified compliance with its commitments.
Update — late Saturday: Trump confirms Sunday signing, Iran pushes back, US shoots down drones. In a social-media post on Saturday evening, Trump said the agreement was scheduled to be signed on Sunday and that the Strait of Hormuz would be “open to all” immediately after the signing. Sharif echoed the timeline, writing on X that “we are closer to a peace deal than ever before” and that Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing on Sunday, to be followed by technical-level talks next week. Iran pushed back: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state media on Saturday that while “the possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out”, the signing “will not be tomorrow”, and “due to the hesitation of the other side, we must be cautious in making any comments about this process”. A US official who spoke to reporters declined to commit to a date but called it “a great deal and a very strong deal”. Hours after Araghchi’s earlier remarks, US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. US Central Command later confirmed the action and said the strait remained open. Baghaei separately confirmed via Fars that the release of frozen assets was an “integral part” of the agreement and that Iran would have to charge for services in the strait — language that maintains Tehran’s transit-fee position even as Washington insists on free passage.
Update — Sunday morning June 14: Trump, marking his 80th birthday, reaffirmed on Sunday morning that the deal would be signed “today”, describing it as a “wall to no nuclear weapon” that would bar Iran from acquiring a weapon “through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement”. Once the first stage is signed, he said, the Strait of Hormuz would be “open to all” and the United States would later “get the Nuclear Dust” inside Iran and “destroy it”. Araghchi separately confirmed that the memorandum consists of 14 points, with the first being the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports. The framework calls for an end to hostilities across all fronts including Lebanon, a no-first-use commitment, and the release of frozen Iranian assets upon the MoU’s signing; the nuclear file — including Iran’s position that its enriched uranium be diluted inside the country — is deferred to a second phase that will also cover the lifting of US sanctions. A US official told reporters Hormuz reopening would be a “requirement” with “no tolls” in exchange for the blockade lift, with subsequent demining potentially involving G7 powers. Despite the positive signals, opponents of the deal rallied in squares and in front of the Foreign Ministry in Tehran on Saturday night, chanting “Araqchi have some shame, let go of America!”; at pro-government rallies elsewhere, including in Mashhad, some chanted “Death to the compromiser” and “Compromiser, resign”. Reuters, cited by Ada Derana, said US bombings had degraded Iran’s military-industrial base but left the Revolutionary Guard more firmly entrenched than before. Israel — not party to the MoU — said it had struck more than 70 sites in Lebanon over the previous 24 hours against Hezbollah, even as Trump pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb operations to allow Washington’s deal with Tehran to land.
Update — Sunday afternoon: Reuters publishes 9-point MoU term sheet, Qatari delegation arrives in Tehran. A senior Iranian official told Reuters the final draft of the memorandum of understanding covers nine specific clauses, raising the headline frozen-asset figure to $25 billion and adding a US oil-sanctions waiver clause. Under the draft term sheet, Iran would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the US lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports — the blockade unwind would begin immediately after signing and be completed within 30 days. The US would agree not to impose new sanctions until a final deal is reached, with all US and UN sanctions lifted on an agreed timetable thereafter, and would waive oil sanctions on Iran for a specified period to allow Tehran to sell oil and receive revenue. Washington would release $25 billion of Iran’s frozen assets via direct cash transfers, regional cooperation and financial credit lines, and would coordinate with regional allies on a reconstruction and development plan to be negotiated with Tehran within 60 days. Pending the final agreement, Iran would maintain the current status of its nuclear programme — refraining from further uranium enrichment or nuclear-facility expansion — and would later be permitted to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium on Iranian soil under a future comprehensive agreement. The full nuclear file, uranium enrichment activities and HEU-handling mechanisms would be negotiated within 60 days of the MoU. Separately, a Qatari delegation headed by an adviser to the Qatari foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Sunday to advance the US-Iran negotiations, Iran’s semi-official ISNA agency reported, with the Mehr agency saying the delegation met Iranian officials “to review the status of the diplomatic process”.
Update — Sunday evening: Putin–Trump call, Witkoff and Kushner to return to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin called US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday — Trump’s 80th birthday — and discussed the wars in Ukraine and Iran and an upcoming visit of Washington’s envoys to Russia, the Kremlin said. “The conversation focused on the situation surrounding the memorandum of understanding being drafted between the United States and Iran. Donald Trump said an agreement is close,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Ada Derana citing agency reports. Ushakov added that it had “been agreed that US presidential special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are currently closely involved in Iranian affairs, will return to Russia soon” — folding Moscow into the same envoy track Pakistan and Qatar have been mediating from. Witkoff and Kushner have been the lead US negotiators throughout the war and have separately shuttled between Islamabad and Doha; Sunday’s call is the first formal acknowledgement that Moscow is being briefed on the MoU as drafting nears completion.
Sources: Deal to end fighting would lead to Hormuz reopening, Iran says — Ada Derana / BBC, June 13; Trump agreed to release $24B in frozen Iranian assets without formal announcement: Report — Ada Derana / Anadolu, June 13; Pakistan PM says US-Iran peace deal signing expected within 24 hours — Ada Derana / Agencies, June 13; Trump says Iran deal will be signed Sunday, Strait of Hormuz to open immediately after — Ada Derana / Reuters, June 13; Iran says signing of Islamabad memorandum will not take place on Sunday — Ada Derana / Reuters, June 13; Trump Says Deal Between The US and Iran to be Signed, Today — NewsFirst / Al Jazeera, June 14; US, Iran inch closer to deal, timing remains unclear — Ada Derana / Reuters, June 14; Iran says draft US deal includes oil sanctions waiver and asset release — Ada Derana / Reuters, June 14; Qatari delegation in Tehran to discuss US-Iran talks — Ada Derana, June 14; Putin discussed Iran, Ukraine war in call with Trump — Ada Derana / Agencies, June 14.
