US and Iranian presidents sign deal aiming to end war

US and Iranian presidents sign deal aiming to end war 2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Anthony Zurcher , travelling with the US president in France and Max Matza Watch: Three key takeaways from US-Iran agreement The presidents of the US and Iran have signed an initial peace deal aiming to end the war, allowing it to immediately take effect. The agreement includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran's "reconstruction", and the US terminating "all types of sanctions" on Iran. But the issue of Iran's nuclear programme, the main reason stated by the US for the conflict, is still to be negotiated over an extendable 60-day period. US President Donald Trump, who signed the deal in France during the G7 summit, defended the proposal, saying it would stave off an "economic catastrophe". He warned, though, that the US would "bomb the hell" out of Iran if no final deal emerged. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the document on Wednesday, Tehran confirmed. Iran's parliamentary speaker and key negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told state media his distrust of the US remained, and Iran's "finger is on the trigger". "If the enemy does not understand the language of logic, we will enter again with the language of power," he told state broadcaster Fars. What's in the US-Iran agreement that's now in effect The US and Israel launched the war on Iran on 28 February, assassinating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military officials on the first day. But since that time the conflict has spiralled, driving up energy prices and renewing inflationary pressures as Iran imposed a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade waterway through which around 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) usually passes. Trump told reporters in France at the lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains, where the G7 summit took place, that the plan would avert "worldwide depression". "I didn't want to see economic catastrophe," Trump told reporters. "If you kept this going, that could have happened. "All I know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship," he added. "Every time we said something negative, like, guess what, we're not going to be able to settle, it would go down very big." Moment Trump signs Iran deal at Palace of Versailles Oil prices dipped after the agreement was announced. In early Asia trading on Thursday, Brent crude was around 1% lower at $78.79 (£59.21) a barrel, but it remained about $8 higher than before the conflict started. Trump signed a hard copy of the initial deal, called a memorandum of understanding, during a state dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The text says the US and Iran will "commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days, extendable with mutual consent". The agreement says "Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weap