President Donald Trump paused briefly before signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran on Wednesday, acknowledging that the agreement intended to end months of conflict in the Middle East had been anything but easy to achieve.
Video released from the signing ceremony at the Palace of Versailles showed Trump hesitating momentarily before putting pen to paper during a candlelit dinner following the Group of Seven summit in France. French President Emmanuel Macron and other invited guests witnessed the signing.
“It wasn’t easy. I can assure you of that,” Trump said as he extended both hands before signing the document, according to Al Jazeera.
The memorandum establishes the framework for ending a conflict that has lasted for more than three months and lays the foundation for broader negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump said Tehran had agreed to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium in exchange for sweeping economic relief, describing the arrangement as an important step toward stabilizing the region.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed that the document had been finalized through the signatures of the presidents, saying the agreement had entered a new phase despite the absence of a traditional face-to-face signing ceremony.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a mediating role in the negotiations, said the agreement would take effect immediately.
“As a first step, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States will immediately lift its naval blockade,” Sharif wrote on X, according to AFP.
Under the terms outlined by U.S. officials, Washington also committed to lifting oil sanctions that have severely constrained Iran’s economy. Once a comprehensive agreement on Tehran’s nuclear activities is finalized, the United States will facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund backed by regional partners.
The memorandum is intended as a temporary framework while negotiators work toward a more comprehensive settlement addressing the long-term oversight of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The document had initially been expected to receive formal signatures from Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Iranian officials later said an in-person signing ceremony was no longer necessary because the agreement had already been completed electronically.
Sharif, however, said a formal ceremony remains scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, where technical negotiations are also expected to begin.
Despite signing the memorandum, Iranian officials portrayed the outcome as a diplomatic setback for Washington rather than Tehran.
“People will see it and judge,” Ghalibaf said during an interview on Iranian state television after the text of the agreement was released.
China also weighed in on the agreement, emphasizing that every party involved must fully honor its commitments if the accord is to succeed.
While Trump hailed the memorandum as a breakthrough, the agreement has generated criticism among some of his political allies in the United States.
Trump reiterated that the United States remained prepared to use military force if Iran failed to comply with the agreement.
He warned that Washington would not hesitate to launch renewed bombing campaigns should Tehran violate its obligations under the memorandum.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy sharply criticized the arrangement, arguing that it rewarded Iran without permanently eliminating concerns over its nuclear program.
“Iran’s nuclear ambitions are not restrained, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works,” Cassidy said.
“Sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped. This is the worst foreign policy mistake in decades,” he added.
The agreement also drew praise from Iran’s regional allies. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem described the memorandum as a major victory for Tehran and thanked the Iranian leadership for insisting that any ceasefire arrangement also address the conflict in Lebanon.
Although the memorandum has reduced hopes of an immediate escalation in the region, it remains only an interim political agreement. Negotiators are expected to spend the next several weeks attempting to transform the framework into a binding final treaty governing Iran’s nuclear program, regional security and long-term economic normalization.
