U.S.-Iran to Ink Deal Friday in Switzerland. Vance: It’s a “Big Win”

The United States and Iran will sign a peace deal on Friday that will formalize Sunday’s digital signing. The ceremony will be held in Switzerland.

President Trump said the deal will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, pending the removal of mines; and lift the U.S. naval blockade of the sea lanes, which carry 20 percent of the global oil supply.

And if Iran refuses to sign the deal on Friday, Trump warned, he would order a renewed attack.

Multiple Announcements

Late Sunday afternoon, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the negotiations had succeeded.

“Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Sharif wrote on X.

Noting that the agreement will be signed on Friday in Switzerland, Sharif reported that mediators will continue meeting this week. “These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony,” he wrote.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at about the same time.

“I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade,” he continued:

Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!

Oil was flowing before the United States attacked Iran at Israel’s behest. That aside, Trump also claimed that he succeeded where all other presidents had failed.

Noting that the “great deal” will bring peace to the region, Trump wrote that “many presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me.”

“The Leaders of the Region have, for the first time, found a President who can help them achieve real Peace,” Trump continued.

The Strait will officially open on Friday for “purposes of mine removal.”

“Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote this morning:

They are going along the Southern “Highway,” which is totally safe, secure, and pristine.

Early yesterday, Trump wrote that he would unleash the U.S. military again if Iran failed to sign the peace pact. The United States, he said, would become “GUARDIAN OF THE MIDDLE EAST.”

As well, “Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Iranian media that the text of the memorandum of understanding had been finalized,” Axios reported.

Two-step Verification

During a round of television interviews today, Vice President J.D. Vance said details of the agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, will be released later this week. Vance told ABC’s Good Morning America that the deal was signed digitally yesterday.

“If the Iranians are willing to give a long-term commitment — along with proper verification — to giving up that nuclear weapon, we’re willing to welcome them into the world economy to lift some sanctions and to turn over a new leaf in that relationship,” Vance said.

“The important thing to understand is that the agreement is fundamentally built around a two-step verification process,” Vance said on CNBC:

We say to the Iranians, you are welcome to have access to an unsanctioned economy, you’re welcome to be reinvited into the world economy, but only if you honor the commitments that you make in this agreement.…

What this agreement does is say to the Iranians that you don’t have access to the money to rebuild that nuclear program, but if you’re willing to give up that program long term, if you’re willing to accept the inspections and verification regime that’s necessary to give us the confidence you’re never going to have a nuclear weapon, then we want you to be a prosperous country, and we will reinvite you into the community of nations.

Vance warned that if Iran doesn’t abandon its nuclear ambition “they’re never going to have the resources to rebuild it from where it is today.”

Appearing on CBS, Vance reiterated that the United States will welcome Iran into the world economy if it honors its “end of the bargain.”

“What this agreement does is really two-fold,” Vance said. “On the one hand it ensures that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, while simultaneously opening the Strait of Hormuz.”

The price of oil has dropped from a high of $126 per barrel “down to about $80 a barrel today,” he said.

The deal “extends a hand to Iran, and says look, if you guys are willing to honor your obligations, if you’re willing to allow real inspections of your nuclear program, then we will welcome you back into the world economy,” Vance continued.

Misreported Details

“What the President of the United States wants to do is turn over a leaf of 47 years of a failed relationship between the United States and Iran, but that requires the Iranians to actually honor their end of the bargain,” he said:

So when people say that billions of dollars of assets will be released, that’s not true. What is true is that Iran will have a much better and much more prosperous future if they meet the obligations they make in this agreement.

Vance told Fox news that the pact will “fundamentally transform the Middle East for the next 50 years” if Iran complies. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, he said, and will not buy one. The deal, he said, is a “big win.”

Insider Details

Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for Turning Point USA, reported on a media briefing from senior administration officials.

Aside from confirming what Vance said in his interviews, an “official stressed that we’re here not just because of the last 1.5 years of the Trump administration, but because of the first 4 as well. The sanctions pressures built up and they believe created leverage,” Kolvet reported on X.

The negotiations were “very fruitful” because Iran’s economy was degraded and the “scattering of their government … created a lot of internal pressure.”

“Operation Project Freedom has been an ‘unsung hero’ in this, resulting in over 7 million barrels of oil a day,” Kolvet continued:

That increased US leverage.

The nuclear talks are described as “technical” in terms of how to retrieve the enriched uranium.

Stressed this is not “pay for play.” They will not get access to markets or release of their funds just for showing up for a meeting.