Iran confirms it has signed deal with US: foreign ministry spokesman

A man reads a copy of the Iranian daily newspaper Hamshahri bearing an image of the US president and a headline that reads "Gone with the wind" at a kiosk in Tehran on June 18, 2026 (AFP photo)
A man reads a copy of the Iranian daily newspaper Hamshahri bearing an image of the US president and a headline that reads "Gone with the wind" at a kiosk in Tehran on June 18, 2026 (AFP photo)

TEHRAN — Iran on Thursday confirmed it has signed a deal with Washington to end the Middle East war, as announced earlier by US President Donald Trump.

"The text of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was finalised with the signatures of the presidents -- now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.

He said the signing had been done electronically and remotely by the two presidents, and that an official ceremony did not "have much of a place" in Iran's plans.

The Swiss government had earlier said a signing ceremony would be held on Friday at a luxury mountain hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne, and that Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance would attend.

"When the text is signed by the highest officials of the two countries, violating it will naturally have greater costs, and given our experiences, we preferred this to happen," Baqaei said.

The text of the agreement was released Wednesday by both sides. A two-month negotiating period will follow, with the much-anticipated reopening of the Strait of Hormuz -- a vital conduit for global oil and gas supplies — as the first step.

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