Trump and Pezeshkian sign memorandum formally ending US-Iran war
President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 formally ending the war between the two countries, with Trump adding his signature during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The document had been initialed digitally days earlier by Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s chief negotiator and was finalized with the two presidents’ signatures.
The memorandum locks in the ceasefire framework reached the previous week and commits Iran to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil. The practical effect there is gated on mine-clearing operations expected to delay safe passage for shipping, so the diplomatic milestone does not immediately restore traffic.
The harder questions were deferred rather than settled. Trump publicly signaled flexibility on Iran’s ballistic missiles , telling reporters it would be “a little bit unfair” to bar Iran from holding some, and drew a distinction between conventional missiles and nuclear weapons. That stance is likely to unsettle hawks in Congress and US allies in the region who wanted missile limits written into any deal, and it leaves verification of Iran’s nuclear program as the central unresolved item. Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the same window underscore how fragile the surrounding regional picture remains.