Trump says Iran deal signed, Strait of Hormuz to open Friday

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The United States said Monday that ships will move toll-free through the Strait of Hormuz under an Iran peace deal signed by President Donald Trump, and insisted Tehran would have to fulfill its commitments before getting any economic benefits.

They included a possible $300 billion reconstruction fund for the war-battered country, but the release of funds will be "tied to performance," a senior Trump administration official said in a call with reporters.

Trump, US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf electronically signed the so-called memorandum of understanding on Sunday, the officials said.

"The president wanted to sign it personally because he wanted to show his dedication to the process," one of the US officials said on condition of anonymity.

Hezbollah said on Monday it had attacked an Israeli force trying to advance in southern Lebanon despite the US-Iran agreement to end the Middle East war.

Fighters from the group "using rockets and drones" blocked an Israeli force consisting of an excavator and two Merkava tanks that was "advancing" in the vicinity of Kfar Tebnit town near the southern city of Nabatieh, Hezbollah said in a statement.

In another statement late Monday, it added: "The enemy army regrouped its forces in the vicinity of the crossing area by bringing in an armored force consisting of five Merkava tanks and four vehicles.

"The mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted them with rocket barrages and artillery shells, and the clashes are still ongoing".

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli drone targeted a car in the same area "killing its driver," Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported, marking the first deadly strike since the agreement was announced.

Lebanon's state-run news agency is reporting Israeli shelling in the towns of Habboush and Kfar Tebnit, close to the city of Nabatieh in south Lebanon.

The National News Agency said Israeli forces are also firing artillery on the towns of Mahmoudieh and Sejoud in Jezzine district.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran had spared his country from what he described as the Islamic republic's threat of "nuclear annihilation".

In his first public remarks since the United States and Iran announced an agreement in the early hours of Monday to end the Middle East war, Netanyahu also said that Israeli troops would remain in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria for "as long as necessary".

Speaking at a televised press conference, Netanyahu, who has faced severe criticism over his handling of the war and what critics describe as his failure to influence Washington's negotiations over the deal, sought to highlight what he portrayed as the campaign's major achievements.

"The most important thing is that we saved the State of Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation," Netanyahu said.

"And what would that mean? It would mean that millions of Israeli citizens - you who are hearing me now - all of you would have been in terrible danger of mass death... And we have pushed away from us, for years, this danger of the annihilation of Israel's population," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu pledged that Iran would never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, regardless of the terms of any agreement.

Hezbollah said on Monday it had repelled an Israeli force that was trying to "advance" in southern Lebanon, despite the US-Iran agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts including in Lebanon.

Fighters from the group "using rockets and drones" blocked an Israeli force consisting of an excavator and two Merkava tanks that was "advancing" in the vicinity of Kfar Tebnit town near the southern city of Nabatieh, Hezbollah said in a statement.

Hamas on Monday hailed a deal between the United States and Iran, expressing hope it would help put an end to violence in the Gaza Strip.

A purported ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas in October has failed to stop constant Israeli attacks in Gaza, which have killed almost 1000 Palestinians.

In a statement, Hamas said it "welcomes the announced agreement on the memorandum of understanding between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States," congratulating its backer Iran for its "steadfastness... in the face of pressures and challenges."

"We hope that this agreement will serve as a step to contribute to enhancing regional stability and positively reflect on various regional files, foremost the immediate cessation of the ongoing Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and an end to the repeated attacks and violations against Lebanon and all other fronts," it added.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday welcomed the announced US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war during a call from Tehran's top diplomat and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, the Lebanese presidency said in a statement.

The Lebanese leader said he hoped the agreement would be a "positive step towards reducing tensions and opening the door to diplomatic solutions", while Araghchi emphasised "the importance of respecting Lebanon's sovereignty", the statement said.

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, health officials said.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed a woman in the town of Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip, while another strike killed one person in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp.

Later on Monday, an Israeli airstrike targeted the rooftop of a building in Gaza City, killing two people, a medic and his son, health officials said.

A purported ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas in October has failed to stop constant Israeli attacks in Gaza. Almost 1000 Palestinians have been killed and another 3,144 wounded by Israeli fire since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.

Syria's state-owned telecom operator said an international undersea cable between the city of Tartous and Egypt's Alexandria was subjected to an "act of sabotage", affecting internet service for users across Syria.

Syrian Telecom told state-owned news agency SANA the maintenance of the cable and full resumption of services would take time, adding that the act cannot be separated from what it described as a "systematic sabotage campaign" targeting the country's infrastructure

The United States has released no frozen Iranian funds so far under a peace deal, a US official said Monday, dismissing an Iranian report that Washington would immediately unblock some assets.

"Zero," the senior administration official said in a call with reporters when asked how many Iranian funds had been released. "The very simple fact is $0 of frozen assets have been released by the United States or any other country."

US President Donald Trump on Monday said an agreement with Iran has been signed and that the text of the deal would be released sometime after a formal signing on Friday.

Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of this week's G7 meeting, Trump said he did not know if he would attend the Friday ceremony expected in Geneva, but that US Vice President JD Vance would be there.

"The deal's all signed. And the strait is already partially opened, as you know," Trump told reporters shortly after arriving in Evian, France. "On Friday, it'll be completely open."

Vance earlier on Monday said the agreement had been signed digitally on Sunday and that no funds were released.

Asked when the text of the memorandum of understanding would be made public, Trump said: "Probably pretty soon. I would say after sometime after Friday... I think sometime in the very near future."

Trump said any sanctions relief for Tehran was "really a behavioral thing. If they do what they're supposed to do, that starts taking effect."

At least two Syrian interior ministry personnel were killed in a suicide attack that targeted a ministry camp in the city of Raqqa, the Syrian state news agency reported on Monday, citing the ministry's spokesperson.

The memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran has been signed by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad ​Bagher Ghalibaf, a senior US official said on Monday.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree calling for presidential elections in early 2027 and for legislative elections to be held in November of this year, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, without saying if he would run.

"President Mahmoud Abbas announced that presidential elections will be held in early 2027," Wafa said, citing a statement from the presidency.

The 90-year-old leader's decree also calls for legislative elections to take place in November of this year, it added.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that Tehran still holds "deep mistrust" of the United States despite an agreed framework aimed at ending the war.

"Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that Iran's deep mistrust of the United States stems from long history of wrongdoing by American leaders," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during a press briefing.

"The United States still has a long way to go before it can earn the trust of the Iranian people," he said, adding that the framework was "merely a step towards reducing tensions".

The United States and Iran announced a deal to end the Middle East war on all fronts and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, sparking relief Monday after months of deadly violence and global economic chaos.

The conflict had erupted in late February, with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which retaliated with attacks on Israel and US allies in the region.

Baqaei said Washington had committed to releasing Iran's frozen funds abroad and compensating it for damages during the war under the framework deal.

The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Monday there is no unanimity in the bloc to impose sanctions on far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, despite pressure from several countries.

"Many member states have also proposed to sanction Minister Ben Gvir, but no consensus on that was reached today," Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Calls to blacklist Ben-Gvir grew after he published video last month of himself mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

France in response banned Ben-Gvir from entering the country and called for the EU to impose bloc-wide sanctions.

EU sanctions have to be signed off by all the 27 member states and staunch supporters of Israel had refused to go along with the push.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually at a standstill Monday, tracking platforms indicated, despite US President Donald Trump's claim that crossings were resuming under his deal to end the war with Iran.

Trump said Monday that loaded oil tankers were "starting to move" out of the strait, apparently on a route near to Oman, in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Announcing the accord with Iran on Sunday, he had said that the strait could reopen immediately after the scheduled signing of the agreement on Friday.

A "memorandum of understanding" between the two nations meanwhile stipulated the "reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days", as quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency.

At 1400 GMT on Monday, tracking firm Kpler had detected only one commodities carrier crossing the strait during the day with its transponder switched on.

The Maltese-flagged Disha left the Gulf carrying a cargo of 60,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) loaded in Qatar and was heading towards India, Kpler said.

A second vessel, the bulk carrier Kaiser, also appeared to have exited the strait around midday, according to its AIS signal traceable on the MarineTraffic platform.

Before the war, around 120 daily transits were recorded, according to maritime news site Lloyd's List.

Iran must fundamentally change its behaviour before any EU sanctions can be lifted, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

"The principle of sanctions is that we need real change on the ground before we can think about lifting them. Sanctions are in place to change behaviour. So if behaviour is changing credibly and verifiably, then you can lift sanctions", she said, speaking at a press conference in Evian, France, ahead of the G7 summit.

An Israeli drone strike targeted a car in southern Lebanon, killing its driver, Lebanese security sources and state media reported on Monday.

The strike was the first reported deadly Israeli attack in Lebanon since the announcement of the US-Iran agreement. 

• Iran and the US have announced a deal to end more than three months of war. The two countries will now attempt to negotiate a final agreement over Iran's nuclear programme over the next 60 days. An official signing ceremony is expected to take place on 19 June in Switzerland.
   
• Details remain sketchy, with neither side publishing the text of the memorandum of understanding. The deal is expected to lead to the immediate re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the US's blockade on Iran. The US is also thought to have agreed to release billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on its oil industry. Mediator Pakistan said the deal extends across the region - including to Israel's ongoing war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
   
• Trump says that oil tankers are "starting to move" through the Strait of Hormuz following the deal.
   
• Israel is continuing to strike Lebanon despite Pakistan and Iran saying the deal requires an immediate ceasefire. 
   
• Politicians and commentators in Israel have reacted with fury to the deal, with many framing the war as a strategic disaster and slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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