Here’s what’s actually written in the US-Iran peace deal

The points of the peace deal revealed

A Trump administration official confirmed to the BBC that the deal signed by Trump during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains in France is now set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The agreement consists of 14 points and is known as a Memorandum of Understanding.

As per the agreement, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon while it also commits a $300bn fund for the “reconstruction and economic development”.

The agreement comes four months after the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran broke out in February.

The White House described the agreement as “performance-based” and said that Iran will benefit only as long as it complies with the commitments of the agreement.

The key points of the agreement

The text of the deal leaves many questions without answers and many key issues unsolved, but some of the key points have been revealed.

Point 1, or the first paragraph of the agreement, notes that the US, Iran and allies will declare an “immediate and permanent” termination of military operations on "all fronts" - including Lebanon.

Lately, as per reports, Trump has been quite concerned that the military operations of Israel against Hezbollah could overturn the agreement with Iran, while Iran has said that it expected the truce to also cover Lebanon.

As per the agreement, “from now on” neither side will initiate military operations or threaten each other, and ensure “the territorial integrity and sovereignty” of Lebanon.

The document says that the final agreement will lead to the permanent “termination” of the conflict.

Point 2 consists of respect for “international affairs”, as the text of the document notes that the US and Iran will “respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

In the meantime, they will have to refrain from interfering in each side's internal affairs.

The third point in the document states that the US and Iran will commit to negotiating and achieving a final deal in a “maximum” of 60 days.

However, it stated that the timeline could be extended with mutual consent.

Following the signing of the document by leaders of the two countries, the 60-day countdown has now officially begun.

The White House told the BBC that Trump signed the Iran document at a post-G7 dinner at the Palace of Versailles in France on Wednesday night.

According to the White House, this document has also been signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

While both Trump and Iranian officials indicated that earlier this week there would be a formal signing ceremony, it now unclear whether that will still go ahead.

Meanwhile, as per the fourth point, the US will begin removing its naval blockade and “any disturbances or impediments” that have been placed on Iranian ports, once the MoU is signed.

As the blockade will end fully within 30 days, the number of vessels the US allows through Iranian ports will be in proportion to the traffic being restored by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, during this time.

The US has also committed to removing American forces from the “proximity of Iran”, within 30 days of a final deal being signed.

What this means is that in practice, the US military will return to the posture and assets it had in place before hostilities began on 28 February.

The Strait of Hormuz and how it will get managed

The fifth point of the agreement is the Strait of Hormuz, as part of the agreement notes that upon the signing of the MoU, Iran will “make arrangements using its best efforts” to allow safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz - with no charge.

Since the conflict started and the strait was shut, this has been a significant objective of the US.

The closure of the pivotal strait also sent global oil prices spiking, in the first quarter of the year.

As per the document, traffic will start flowing “immediately”, taking into account the need to remove technical and military “obstacles” and conduct de-mining operations.

While in the longer-term, as per the document, Iran will work with Oman and other Gulf states to set up a “broader” agreement on how to manage the Strait of Hormuz.

The reconstruction of Iran following the war

As per the sixth point of the agreement, the US and regional partners will develop a “definitive, mutually agreed plan” worth at least $300bn (£224bn) for reconstruction and economic development in Iran.

Within 60 days of the final deal there will be a final mechanism on which the sides will agree, and all licences, waivers and permissions will be granted by the US.

This does not mean that the US will be involved financially in the reconstruction of Iran, however.

As per one official, the US is not required to pay “a cent of money” to Iran, or contribute to the fund.

President Trump and other officials from his administration have even gone so far as to make clear to the US public that it will not be paying Iran directly, which the administration says stands in stark contrast to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the Obama administration.

In the agreement, point 7 states that the US will terminate all economic sanctions against Iran, including those included in UN Security Council resolutions and those implemented unilaterally by the US.

As per the document, the schedule will be agreed upon as part of the final deal, but both sides acknowledge their intentions to “immediately” address the issue later.

As Iran has been hit pretty hard by sanctions, an American campaign, known as Operation Economic Fury, has aimed to cut Iran off from the financial system globally.

Iran has agreed not to develop nuclear weapons

As per point 8, Iran has agreed to not procure or develop a nuclear weapon, and both sides have agreed to deal with the enriched uranium Tehran already has.

What is unclear is the method used to manage the material.

According to the document, the mechanism “will be mutually agreed upon” in subsequent talks, but that, at a minimum, it will be “downblended” in place under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

This was described as “minimum standard” and a “major win” for the US by a senior Trump administration official.

According to Trump, “99%” of what he wanted by launching Operation Epic Fury earlier this year against Iran was to prevent the Islamic Republic from having nuclear weapon.

Other points, those number 9 and 10, cover the issue of a “status quo”.

According to the following two parts of the agreement, the US and Iran agree to a “status quo” of its nuclear programme in the meantime, until the enriched uranium can be dealt with.

What this means in practice is that the US will not impose new sanctions on Iran, while in the meantime it will issue waivers for the export of oil, petroleum products and other associated services, such as banking transactions and transportation.

The most problematic point which impeded negotations

A significant impediment to negotiations has been point eleven, which is about frozen funds.

In order for the country to have another economic lifeline, Iran had long insisted that its frozen assets be released.

This point of the document notes that the US “undertakes to make fully available frozen or restricted funds” once the MoU is signed and that procedures will be agreed upon during negotiations.

The final few points of the document

As per points twelve and fourteen, these final few points of the document lay out the logistics of how the deal will unfold.

It is expected that the US and Iran will establish a “mechanism” to monitor the implentation of the MoU and compliance with a future deal, though it is unclear what this will look like in practice.

After that, following the signing and implementation of the MoU, the US and Iran will start negotations for a final deal.

And to conclude everything, the MoU spells out that a final deal will be endorsed by a binding UN Security Council resolution.