Iran can start selling oil once deal is signed

• US officials say banking, transportation and insurance services to facilitate the sales will also resume
• Switzerland to hold signing of peace accord in mountainside resort of Burgenstock
• US naval blockade of Hormuz ‘lifted’ as Iran reports ships sailing through
• Deal proposes $300bn reconstruction fund for Tehran, paid for by neighbouring Gulf states

WASHINGTON: The US will allow Iran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) the two sides reached to end the war, a senior US official said on Tuesday.

“Iran can only access any benefits of the MoU if they abide by all of the points they agreed to including no nuclear weapon, neutralising its enriched material, and not interfering with the free flow of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the official told Reuters.

The provision for waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales takes effect once the agreement is signed this week, and also covers services including banking, transportation and insurance to facilitate the sales, the source said.

The development came as Iran’s foreign minister announced that the upcoming negotiations would be broken up into two stages.

The first stage, which Switzerland announced would kick off in the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock on Friday, will cover issues such as the status of the Strait of Hormuz, the US’s naval blockade, and reconstruction after US-Israeli bombardment of Iran’s infrastructure, Al Jazeera quoted Abbas Araghchi as saying.

A later stage of negotiations will cover nuclear issues and sanctions relief to be resolved in a final agreement, he added.

The uber-plush resort, perched high above Lake Lucerne in central Switze­rland, is difficult to access, with water on three sides, and therefore easily secured.

The location, the Swiss foreign ministry said, “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”.

Details emerge

Details began to emerge on Tuesday of the US and Iran’s interim deal to end the war in the Middle East, with Donald Trump saying it will rule out a nuclear weapon for Tehran.

The interim deal is set to extend a tenuous ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.

The US president said the text of the deal states clearly that Tehran will not have a nuclear weapon, and the full agreement would be made public in a formal setting in a few days.

“Iran wants to get it done,” Trump told reporters about the next phase of negotiations with Iran.

“They have to get back to business, and the relationship is now normalised, so I think it’s going to go pretty quickly.” Earlier he described the deal as “a wall to a nuclear weapon” for Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media on Monday that the interim agreement was an “important step” towards stopping the fighting but noted a final deal for a lasting truce “has yet to take shape”.

US and Iranian officials say the deal could eventually deliver substantial economic benefits to Iran by lifting sanctions and unfreezing foreign assets. It could also set up a $300 billion reconstruction fund, paid for by neighbouring Gulf states that host US military bases and were hit by Iranian attacks during the war.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran would have to satisfy US demands never to build a nuclear weapon and cut off support for militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to get those benefits.

Iranian officials, who have always denied intending to build a nuclear wea­pon, say they have given up little by agr­e­eing to resume diplomatic discussions over Iran’s uranium enrichment programme that were interrupted by the war.

Naval blockade eases

Both sides say the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s trade in oil and liquefied natural gas, will be open from Friday.

The Iran’s deputy foreign minister says the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports had been lifted ahead of the planned formal signing of a deal ending the war.

“The lifting of the blockade was something we had emphasised from the outset. It has now begun, and the blockade has been lifted prior to the formal signing” scheduled for Friday, said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi.

On Tuesday, Iranian state television also reported operations to lift its maritime blockade, while stressing that vessels must still coordinate with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

It said that its oil tankers and other vessels had resumed shipping following a deal with the US, in what appears to be an easing of Washington’s naval blockade.

The US said the strait would be open toll-free for 60 days and it would expect that provision to be part of a final agreement. Iran has suggested it will retain control with Oman over the strait. Shippers say a return to normal traffic will be gradual.

Trump said on Monday that ships were starting to come out of the strait. He said it would “completely” reopen as soon as the accord is signed on Friday.

However, maritime trackers indicated that shipping in the critical waterway remained at a trickle. As of 1500 GMT on Tuesday, tracking platform Kpler had detected just four crossings by vessels carrying raw materials.

“The Strait of Hormuz continues to operate below normal commercial levels, despite signals of diplomatic progress,” Kpler said on X.

Lebanon

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has uprooted 1.2 million people, remains another complication.

Iran has said the deal requires a full cessation of hostilities there, but Netanyahu said Israel would keep its forces in southern Lebanon and retain the right to respond to Hezbollah attacks.

Trump has expressed frustration at Israel’s military campaign, saying on Tuesday he was “not happy” with the way Israel had handled itself. Israel has not directly participated in the peace talks with Iran.

On Tuesday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told his Lebanese counterpart, Nabih Berri that Israel must withdraw from occupied areas in Lebanon.

“The people of southern Lebanon must return to their homes”, Ghalibaf added in a post on his Telegram channel.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2026

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