Iran will immediately take steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once a tentative deal with the US to end the war is signed and will be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions, according to leaked copies of an interim agreement that officials say broadly matches the document.
The accord, due to be signed in Switzerland on Friday, also envisions Iran receiving at least $300 billion to rebuild after the war and says the US would work to end all American and United Nations sanctions imposed on Tehran – if a final agreement addressing Iran´s nuclear program is reached.
The US agreement to immediately allow Iran to sell its oil freely and the offer to eventually lift all sanctions, for instance, represent major concessions that outstrip the terms of Iran´s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that Trump withdrew America from in his first term, declaring it the “worst deal ever.”
Much of the agreement would restore the status quo before the war, including ending hostilities, restarting negotiations between the US and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, and reopening the strait, which is a crucial passage for the world´s oil and natural gas and whose closure created a historic energy crisis.
The deal includes an end to the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. That is one of the most delicate parts of the agreement because Israel has maintained it will continue to defend itself and to occupy vast swaths of Lebanon. Iran has said Israel must withdraw under the deal, although the leaked versions make no mention of withdrawal.
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. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Another two officials in the Mideast, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, 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 also has not published an official version of the deal. 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.
Trump has cited various goals for the 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 deal falls short of all of these goals, but Trump hailed it Wednesday.
“Nobody knows what it is but it´s very strong,” Trump said in France, where he is attending a Group of Seven summit. But he also opened the door to abandoning it: “It´s a memorandum of understanding and if I don´t like it, we´ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs.”
“If they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.”