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Iran said connected Tuesday (June 16, 2026) that talks with the United States connected its atomic programme and sanctions alleviation would apt statesman aboriginal this week, arsenic President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would "completely open" erstwhile the foes motion their deal.
Follow the updates for the West Asia LIVE connected June 16, 2026
Officials accidental negotiations implicit a last woody would instrumentality spot successful a 60-day model aft the memorandum of knowing to extremity astir 4 months of warfare triggered by U.S.-Israeli strikes connected Iran is physically signed.
"Likely connected Friday (June 19, 2026), astatine a determination to beryllium determined... a caller circular of negotiations betwixt Iran and the United States to scope a last statement volition begin," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
"In the last agreement, decisions volition beryllium made connected the atomic issues and the lifting of sanctions," helium added. According to Iran's lawman Foreign Minister, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Islamic Republic's apical negotiator, volition be the signing successful Switzerland.
The U.S. broadside volition beryllium represented by Vice President J.D. Vance, who said Mr. Trump himself mightiness besides attend. The developments came aft Mr. Trump said an Iranian blockade connected the important Hormuz Strait lipid and state way would beryllium fully lifted by the aforesaid day, which would beryllium a large boost to the planetary economy.
The U.S. had, successful retaliation, imposed its ain blockade connected Iranian ports. "Ships are starting to move, galore loaded up with Oil, retired of the Strait of Hormuz," Mr. Trump said connected Monday (June 15, 2026), adding aboriginal that helium did not "think we volition request overmuch help" keeping the waterway open.
Sporadic episodes of unit since an April ceasefire had threatened a deal, but weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar built momentum for an interim agreement. Yet a broad statement connected Iran's atomic ambitions and Western sanctions remains unsolved.
Washington and adjacent state Israel are pressing to strip Iran of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, said to person been buried by U.S. strikes past year, portion Iran has insisted connected its right to enrich uranium. The agreed model has nevertheless paved the mode for talks connected those cardinal disputes.
Powerful document
Asked astatine the G7 successful France erstwhile the substance would beryllium released, Mr. Trump said, "It's a precise almighty document, and I privation it to beryllium released. So astir apt beauteous soon."
But helium told The New York Times the U.S. was inactive negotiating whether Iran would suspend enrichment for 20 years, hinting helium mightiness settee for 15.
Iran's subject hailed the accord arsenic a victory, claiming it had "humiliated" the U.S. and Israel, portion President Masoud Pezeshkian called it "a large achievement" for the region. The ultraconservative paper Vatan-e Emrooz praised the statement arsenic a "Trump surrender document".
But Mr. Araghchi struck a much cautious note. "We person a past of breached commitments... we person a past of agreements being torn up. All of this is contiguous successful our minds," helium said.
A elder U.S. medication official, however, said Mr. Trump, Mr. Vance and negotiator Mr. Ghalibaf had already signed the substance electronically. In a flurry of interviews to speech up the deal, Mr. Vance said nary U.S. payer wealth would spell to Iran nether the deal, arsenic Iranian media reported $12 cardinal of frozen assets would beryllium released.
Mr. Vance told NBC that U.S. and UN atomic inspectors volition beryllium allowed to participate Iran. "One of the halfway parts of the statement is that the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United States are going to assistance Iran destruct the highly enriched stockpile, and that's thing that's spelt retired precise clearly" successful the MoU, Mr. Vance said.
"We are not investing immoderate money" successful Iran, Mr. Trump said astatine the G7 acme successful France aft talks with the emir of Qatar, adding that the main absorption of the woody was that Iran would not get a atomic limb and that "all hell" would "rain down" connected the state if it did.
Lebanon important to deal
Analysts person warned that the parallel struggle successful Lebanon betwixt Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah presents the biggest menace to the diplomatic thaw. Lebanon was pulled into the warfare successful March erstwhile Hezbollah launched rockets astatine Israel aft the sidesplitting of Iran's ultimate leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a crushed invasion.
That theatre of the struggle could beryllium "the biggest eventual spoiler" of the coming negotiations, said Ross Harrison, a elder chap astatine the Middle East Institute. Israeli figures rapidly condemned the deal, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the country's forces would stay successful Gaza, Lebanon and Syria "for arsenic agelong arsenic necessary".
But Mr. Araghchi connected Tuesday (June 16, 2026) said that ending the warfare connected each fronts, including Lebanon, was "the astir important" contented successful the bid woody announced with the United States. "Ending the warfare successful Lebanon is an inseparable portion of the implicit extremity of the war" helium added.
