Trump presses Iran after fragile war deal

Washington and Tehran have published the text of an interim agreement signed by their presidents to halt a wider Middle East war, even as President Donald Trump warned that the United States could resume strikes and target Iranian officials if Tehran failed to meet its commitments.

The 14-point memorandum, signed on Wednesday by Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian, extends an earlier ceasefire for 60 days and opens negotiations on a permanent truce. It calls for an immediate end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, the lifting of a U. S. blockade on Iranian ports, the reopening of full maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions waivers, the unfreezing of Iranian assets and the creation of a $300 billion reconstruction and development fund.

Trump, speaking at the Group of Seven summit in France, framed the accord as both a diplomatic opening and a coercive warning. “We’re going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement,” he said. “I don’t want them to. I want them to honour the agreement.” Earlier, he said that if Iran did not “behave”, the United States would go “right back to dropping bombs”.

The agreement marks one of the most consequential U. S.-Iran diplomatic documents since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, not least because both presidents endorsed it after months of direct and indirect fighting. Tehran said the memorandum was already in effect on Wednesday, while Washington described it as a framework rather than a final peace settlement.

The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military figures on the first day. The conflict expanded across the region, drawing in Lebanon, disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing energy prices higher and intensifying inflation concerns. More than 7,000 people have been killed, most of them in Iran and Lebanon.

The memorandum does not resolve the most sensitive issues that drove the conflict. Iran is not required at this stage to dismantle its enriched uranium stockpile, destroy its missile programme or end support for Hezbollah. Instead, the agreement sets a 60-day period for detailed negotiations on a broader settlement, including inspection arrangements, nuclear restrictions and regional security guarantees.

Trump also softened one of his earlier arguments for military action, saying it would be “unfair” to deny Tehran ballistic missiles when other countries in the region possessed them. The comment represented a sharp shift from his previous pledge to eliminate Iran’s missile capability. He said ballistic missiles, unlike nuclear weapons, did not threaten to “blow up the planet”, while suggesting that Iran could retain a limited capability in proportion to its neighbours.

Iranian officials presented the agreement as a vindication of negotiation after a costly war. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Tehran’s lead negotiator, said the country had achieved through talks what military action could not deliver. He cited the release of assets, the reopening of trade routes and the end of immediate hostilities as gains for the Islamic Republic.

The Strait of Hormuz provision is among the most economically significant parts of the text. The waterway handles a large share of global seaborne oil shipments, and its partial closure during the conflict had strained supply chains, freight rates and insurance markets. The agreement commits the parties to restoring maritime traffic without additional charges, while ending restrictions that had slowed Iranian port operations.

Oil prices eased after the truce framework emerged, but market confidence remained fragile because of Trump’s warnings and the unresolved nuclear and missile questions. Traders are also watching whether shipping insurers, Gulf ports and Asian refiners treat the memorandum as durable enough to restore normal flows. Any breakdown in the 60-day process could quickly reverse the relief in energy markets.

G7 leaders welcomed the accord while pressing for a broader reduction in regional violence. The summit statement backed an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and called for follow-on talks to address Iran’s missile programme, nuclear activities and the security of maritime routes. Israel, which was not part of the direct negotiation, has maintained that it reserves the right to act against threats from Iran and Hezbollah.

Trump said U. S. forces would remain in the Gulf “for a while”, signalling that the military posture built during the war would not be unwound immediately. That presence is likely to remain a central point of friction with Tehran, which has long demanded the removal of U. S. forces from the region.