BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) — The United States and Iran have reached a deal to end hostilities, with both sides set to send delegates to Switzerland for a ceremonial signing on Friday.
While the deal has brought hope for peace and relief to financial markets worldwide, its key provisions remain contested. The two sides diverge significantly on how the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened, how sanctions on Iran will be lifted, and how security will be guaranteed.
WILL THERE BE FEES FOR TRANSITING HORMUZ
A 14-point draft memorandum, released by Bloomberg News on Wednesday, covers the Strait of Hormuz reopening, sanctions relief, an economic rehabilitation plan for Iran, and Tehran’s pledge to never pursue nuclear weapons.
On the reopening of the crucial waterway for global energy shipments, the two sides have recently offered conflicting accounts, with a key dispute over whether transiting ships will face fees.
Semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday that Iran will allow ships to pass through the waterway free of charge for 60 days only. Thereafter, Iran intends to levy fees on crossing vessels for security, maritime, environmental and insurance services, channeling the revenues toward economic development.
Iran will charge maritime service fees, rather than levy tolls, on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz under a framework agreement with the United States, the country’s foreign ministry was quoted as saying on Monday.
The U.S. side seeks free passage. Vice President JD Vance has told CNBC that Washington expects the waterway to remain open to toll-free transit in the long term.
HOW SANCTIONS WILL BE LIFTED
The draft memorandum said the United States commits to ending the sanctions currently imposed on Iran. It also outlines a rehabilitation and economic development plan for Iran, with financing of at least 300 billion U.S. dollars.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that the memorandum includes the release of Iran’s frozen assets and reconstruction assistance for war-related damage. The United States will release 12 billion dollars in frozen assets before technical negotiations begin, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency.
The U.S. side has made different statements. “Iran would not be provided cash in the deal,” President Donald Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
“Iran doesn’t get a dime of money unless they perform their obligations, and the money that we’re talking about is fundamentally sanctions relief,” Vice President Vance told ABC on Monday.
While Tehran emphasizes the early release of frozen assets, Washington insists that the move will be gradual and conditional and that the release of assets or sanctions easing will depend on compliance and verification.
STICKING POINTS
In the memorandum, Iran pledged never to produce nuclear weapons. The two sides have agreed that the fate of enriched material and other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, will be addressed adequately in a final agreement.
The draft document leaves the nuclear issue, widely regarded as the most difficult issue to resolve, largely to future negotiations, with little elaboration on specifics.
On the U.S. side, Vance told NBC that U.S. and UN nuclear inspectors will be allowed to enter Iran.
“In fact, one of the core parts of the agreement is that the (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile, and that’s something that’s spelled out very clearly” in the memorandum, he said.
Another sticking point of the deal concerns the ceasefire in Lebanon.
The memorandum said that Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of the deal an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Israel’s Ma’ariv news site, however, reported Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear Israel “does not consider itself committed to the Lebanese clause in the U.S.-Iran agreement.”
Israel is not a party to the agreement, but it has been a combatant since joining U.S. strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 — and it has separately been fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
