US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding Officially Signed
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has confirmed that a memorandum of understanding with the United States has been signed electronically. Speaking to state television channel Press TV, Baghaei stated the agreement has now been officially signed by both parties. The deal was signed by US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian. According to Baghaei, negotiating teams are still scheduled to meet in Geneva, but the digital execution of the document means no physical signing ceremony will be held in Switzerland.
The White House confirmed President Trump signed the memorandum of understanding to end the war against Iran, a White House official told Reuters. The memo was also signed digitally on Sunday by Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, witnessed by Trump, the official said.
Baghaei stated that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports was initially scheduled to be lifted within 30 days in exchange for Iranian transit concessions in the Strait of Hormuz. However, following the Israeli government’s attack on Dahiyeh and Iran’s subsequent threats, negotiations quickly shifted towards accelerated US implementation, with Iranian vessels already entering and leaving ports without hindrance. Iran’s specific reciprocal commitments under the agreement will formally commence after the document is signed.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that securing a ceasefire and ending the war in Lebanon carries equal weight for Tehran as its domestic interests. The name Lebanon appears three times in the first clause of the MoU, which explicitly mandates respect for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty. Iran deliberately focused solely on ending the war at this initial stage, setting aside the nuclear issue.
The signed text outlines a strict 60-day timeframe, commencing immediately, to negotiate exclusively on the nuclear programme and sanctions relief, with an option to extend if necessary. Iran’s defence capabilities and missile programme remain off the negotiating table. Baghaei stated that his country’s missiles are only for launching, not for negotiation, and Tehran will not discuss its defence assets in any process or with any party.
However, Tehran is also prepared to take action amid distrust of the US, said Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. “My pessimism and distrust of America is the greatest. Even if the agreement is finalised and approved by a Security Council resolution, it remains completely untrustworthy,” he said in comments carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. “My distance from the field of diplomatic struggle is not far from the field of military struggle, and it is our hands that are on the trigger.”
When asked about his view on the 60-day negotiation countdown with Iran, President Donald Trump said it was not a hard deadline. “As long as they keep the attitude, I actually don’t care,” he said. “Otherwise, is it a threat that we will bomb them? You could say anything, but it is likely to happen.”