Trump optimistic about Iran deal even as questions linger about Lebanon, remaining nuclear material

By Vaughn Cockayne and Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times - Monday, June 15, 2026

President Trump struck an optimistic tone Monday while touting the U.S.-Iran peace deal, predicting it will transform the Middle East even as daunting questions remain about fighting in Lebanon and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program.

Speaking at the Group of Seven meetings in France, Mr. Trump said he signed the memorandum of understanding late Sunday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the table for limiting Iran’s nuclear program.

“I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now,” Mr. Trump said during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. “Ships are starting to go out now [in the strait]. On Friday, it will be completely open.”

Delegations from both nations intend to travel to Geneva on Friday for the official signing ceremony of the agreement. Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to lead the U.S. delegation.

The exact terms of the memo of understanding have not been released, but the deal establishes a firm ceasefire and sets a 60-day timeline for negotiators to deal with more complex issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Mr. Trump said he did not expect the text of the agreement to be released publicly until at least Friday.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance electronically signed the agreement Sunday. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, signed on behalf of Tehran, senior administration officials said.

The Strait of Hormuz would be reopened to commercial ships under the terms of the agreement, according to the U.S. and Pakistan, which helped mediate the talks, though officials have offered differing timelines for when the waterway would be fully open.

Mr. Trump said Sunday that the waterway would be opened immediately, but on Monday, he said it would be open by Friday.

Iran has kept the strait closed since early March, sending oil and domestic gasoline prices skyward.

The deal is also expected to remove the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, which was imposed in early April in retaliation for Iran’s moves in the strait.

Senior administration officials cautioned that it would take time for maritime traffic in the strait to return to normal. There might be lingering mines, and ship crews want more stability in the region.

Global markets responded positively to news of the agreement. The S&P 500 jumped just under 2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 719 points as of Monday afternoon. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped by 5%, and South Korea’s Kospi closed up 5.2%.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell by about 4.2% to $83.17 a barrel Monday afternoon, while West Texas Intermediate dropped to just over $81 a barrel.

The average U.S. price of a gallon of gas stood at $4.07 on Monday, down from $4.53 a month ago but up 37% from when the war started Feb. 28, according to AAA.

While the U.S. and others expressed optimism that the new deal would hold, serious questions remain about what Iran is willing to give up at the negotiating table and how much it could receive in sanctions relief.

Mr. Vance said sanctions relief and economic benefits for Iran could be achieved only if Tehran demonstrates its ability to make concessions on its nuclear program.

“If you’re willing to give up that program, long-term … then we want you to be a prosperous country,” Mr. Vance told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program.

Iran, by contrast, said Monday that the deal’s conditions included the release of billions of dollars worth of frozen assets and compensation for war damages. Tehran also said Washington would be required to lift all primary and secondary sanctions as well as remove “United Nations Security Council and related nuclear measures.”

Critics of the deal have argued that Mr. Trump exited the war too soon and that any agreement that provides sanctions relief in exchange for enrichment limits could not be much better than the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“The chief thing Trump has accomplished is by comparison making Neville Chamberlain look like Winston Churchill. Trump has, quite literally, written a book on the art of a deal, but has allowed Iran to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat,” said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Iran’s nuclear program remains a major sticking point. The U.S. entered the war with Iran in February, declaring that Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon. Since then, officials have demanded that Iran abandon its enrichment program and give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iran has repeatedly said it has the right to enrich uranium under international law and that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon.

In addition to sanctions, Israel’s continued assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon could undermine the ceasefire and the subsequent negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Monday that his country’s military would not withdraw from “security zones” it has captured in southern Lebanon and would stay for an unspecified duration.

The U.S.-Iran deal reportedly includes the “termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said as much earlier in the day, insisting that the Israel Defense Forces would stay in Lebanon “despite all existing pressures and those that may still come.”

Iran has repeatedly insisted that a full ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops in Lebanon is a precondition to any comprehensive deal with the U.S. After Israel attacked Beirut suburbs last week, Iran quickly launched retaliatory measures.

Although Washington has brokered peace talks between Lebanon and Israel, Beirut does not control the Iran-backed Hezbollah, and the group’s leadership has vowed not to respect the terms of a deal it did not play a part in crafting.

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, reiterated Iran’s demand that the ceasefire in Lebanon be enforced.

“The language is completely clear about what any understanding in this regard should entail,” said Mr. Baghaei, adding that the agreement includes protections for Lebanon’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”