US-Iran deal text agreed, signing expected within 24 hours — nuclear terms to be settled in 60-day talks

HEADLINES IN BRIEF

• Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday a "final, agreed-upon text" of a peace deal between the US and Iran has been reached; an electronic signing is expected within 24 hours, with a ceremony likely in Europe. READ MORE BELOW

• The emerging memorandum of understanding would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, with sanctions relief and nuclear program terms to be negotiated in a 60-day window after signing. READ MORE BELOW

• Iran has collapsed tunnels and mined the entrance to its bombed Isfahan nuclear complex to prevent US access to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to CNN, citing five US intelligence sources. READ MORE BELOW

• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said on state television: "Iran is the winner of the war with the US," adding that Iran and Oman would retain control of Strait of Hormuz traffic under the deal. READ MORE BELOW

• Israel said it will not be party to the agreement; Netanyahu's office said Israel will not withdraw from Lebanon and retains its right to self-defense; Trump told Netanyahu "this is the deal — it's time to end this war." READ MORE BELOW

• US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday; US Central Command said the waterway "remains open for transit."

• Late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's funeral is scheduled to begin in Tehran on July 4 — US Independence Day — and conclude with his burial in Mashhad on July 9.

• Israeli forces advanced near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon; the Lebanese army withdrew from a base in Kfar Tebnit following the Israeli incursion.

IN DETAIL

Deal text agreed; signing imminent

Pakistan's Prime Minister Sharif confirmed Saturday that a final agreed text has been reached and that Islamabad is preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours, followed by technical-level talks next week. The Swiss Foreign Ministry said Switzerland had offered to host a signing ceremony. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis spoke Saturday and agreed to stay in close contact.

A senior US administration official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the US was "80 to 85 percent" confident the deal would be signed, adding: "We're not quite at the finish line yet, but we are very close." He said the agreement was expected to be signed "over the next few days" but could not give an exact date.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said the deal could be signed "remotely" and that it would declare an end to hostilities "on all fronts, including Lebanon." He cautioned media against "speculative reporting" on the deal's contents after Iranian state media published terms that Trump later disputed.

What the deal contains — and what remains disputed

The US official described five core objectives the emerging memorandum of understanding is intended to achieve:

The strait reopens and the US naval blockade of Iranian ports is lifted. Iran's nuclear program is addressed in a subsequent 60-day negotiating period. Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is to be destroyed on site and removed from the country. Iran stops funding armed groups in the region. A long-term inspection regime is established.

However, significant gaps remain between US and Iranian characterisations of the terms. The US official said Iran would receive no sanctions relief or frozen asset releases until it performs its obligations — "None of their money released until they perform." He said the deal was "performance-based" and that the Iranians "don't get anything upon the signing of the MOU."

Iran's position, as stated by Araghchi, differs on several points. He said Iran wants to retain the highly enriched uranium in diluted form inside the country, rather than removing it. He said Iran and Oman would retain joint custody of the Strait of Hormuz: "Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz." Four sources told Reuters that the UAE had agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran immediately — a claim Abu Dhabi denied. Trump dismissed Iranian state media reports on the terms as "false information," saying leaked terms "bear no relation to the truth."

The nuclear stockpile problem

One of the most sensitive issues in the negotiations is the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under the bombed Isfahan nuclear complex. CNN reported Saturday, citing five US intelligence sources, that Iran has deliberately collapsed tunnels and mined entrances to the Isfahan site — making it significantly harder and more dangerous to retrieve the material than it was at the start of the conflict.

A former senior nuclear official told CNN this raised the risk that Iran could claim it was unable to retrieve some of the uranium. Scott Roecker, former head of the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Nuclear Material Removal, said: "I would worry that Iran would claim that some portion of the HEU was irretrievable."

The US official acknowledged technical details of removal still need to be worked out during the 60-day post-signing period. He said Iran had committed "indefinitely to never procure or develop nuclear weapons" — a position Iran has long stated publicly while Western powers have questioned its sincerity.

Israel not party to the deal; Lebanon situation unresolved

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel would not be party to the memorandum of understanding. His defense minister said Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon. A senior Israeli official said Israel expects to retain full freedom of action against threats.

Trump's announcement of the deal last Thursday reportedly caught Netanyahu off guard. A senior US official told Channel 12 that Trump told Netanyahu by phone: "This is the deal. It's an excellent deal. It's time to end this war." The official said Netanyahu "didn't say much during the call" and "apparently understands that there's going to be a deal and that he doesn't have the ability to stop it."

The US official said Israel and Gulf states would retain their right to self-defense under the deal: "If Hezbollah is firing rockets at Israel, and Iran is paying for missiles that are getting launched into Israel, then obviously they haven't kept their end of the bargain."

Lebanon front

On the ground in Lebanon, Israeli forces advanced near the southern city of Nabatiyeh on Saturday. The Lebanese army withdrew its troops from the Kfar Tebnit barracks following the Israeli incursion into the area. Israeli forces appear to be advancing toward the strategic Ali Taher hill overlooking Nabatiyeh — a position Israel held for 18 years until withdrawing in 2000. Lebanese state media reported airstrikes and artillery shelling on villages near Nabatiyeh, with two people killed in Deir al-Zahrani.

A senior Hezbollah official told Al Jazeera that Iran had informed the group Lebanon would be included in any ceasefire deal. More than 3,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Khamenei funeral 

Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed in US and Israeli strikes on February 28, will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9. Funeral ceremonies will begin in Tehran on July 4 — coinciding with the United States' 250th Independence Day — followed by a ceremony in Qom on July 7. 

His son Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded him as supreme leader in early March but has not appeared in public since his appointment and communicates only through written statements.