Washington: The full text of the interim ceasefire agreement between US and Iran would be made public in a formal setting in a few days, US president Donald Trump has said. However, details began to emerge on Tuesday of the same, with Trump saying it will rule out a nuclear weapon for Tehran and a U.S. official saying it allows Iran to sell oil upon signing.
Iran can start selling oil immediately after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two nations, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
The official further added on that the sanctions relief for Iran is based on certain conditions being met. "Iran can only access any benefits of the MoU if they abide by all of the points they agreed to – including no nuclear weapon, neutralizing its enriched material, and not interfering with the free flow of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
A senior Iranian official also told Reuters on Sunday that the final draft of the MoU with the U.S. waives oil sanctions on Iran for a specific period, allowing Tehran to sell oil and earn revenue.
The US blockaded Iranian oil transiting through the Strait of Hormuz after the war which broke out on February 28 after US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Iran effectively shut the strait after the war broke out as well, holding the strait through which one-fifths of the global oil trade passes in a chokehold.
A $300 billion private fund designed to trigger investment into Iran is outlined in the U.S.-Iran framework agreement and more than half that sum has already been committed, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
The fund is designed to give both sides an economic incentive to conclude a final deal, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the full text of the deal has not yet been made public.
The new fund is a private investment vehicle and will not include any government money or grants, the source said, adding that companies based in the U.S., the Gulf Arab states, Asia, South America and Africa have already agreed to commit financing.
A White House spokeswoman pointed to a CBS interview with Vice President JD Vance on Monday in which he said that Iran could gain access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund backed by Gulf states if it complies with an agreement with Washington, including dismantling its nuclear programme, eliminating its stockpile of enriched material, and accepting a stringent inspection and enforcement regime.
Iran, one of the largest economies in West Asia, has attracted almost no significant foreign direct investment in the past four decades, frozen out of global capital markets by successive waves of U.S. and international sanctions.
Iran's foreign minister has stated that negotiations between the two nations will start on the same day the MoU between the two is signed. The minister further added on that, after the first phase, negotiations will continue for 60 days for a final agreement which will include nuclear issue.
The 60-day memorandum is a framework, not a final agreement, and U.S. and Iranian negotiators are expected to work across multiple tracks during that period covering nuclear, sanctions and regional security issues.
Meanwhile, Iran's Top Joint Military Command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel should expect a hard response from the Iranian armed forces if it did not stop its attacks on southern Lebanon. The warning comes days after US and Iran agreed on an interim ceasefire agreement.
-With agency inputs from Reuters