Qatar PM welcomes US-Iran memorandum of understanding

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran's commitments under the newly announced understanding with the United States will take effect from Friday.

Speaking after confirmation of the agreement, Gharibabadi said negotiations on a final deal would continue for 60 days and would focus primarily on the lifting of sanctions.

He added that Iran would enter the next phase of negotiations only after the unfreezing of Iranian assets, the end of the US-led blockade and the formal end of the war.

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Ghribabadi said the immediate and permanent end of the war and military operations on multiple fronts, including Lebanon, will be announced starting tonight.

He added that negotiations on a final agreement between Tehran and Washington would take place over a 60-day period.

"The text of the memorandum of understanding will be published shortly, and the public will be able to see Iran’s achievements and commitments," he said. "Our commitments are not comparable to our gains."

Iranian officials are expected to comment shortly on reports of a possible understanding between Tehran and Washington, according to Tasnim News Agency.

The agency reported that Iranian officials would speak "within minutes" regarding reports circulating about a reported agreement.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X that the US and Iran had reached a peace deal to immediately and permanently end military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, with a signing set for June 19 in Switzerland.

Sharif said both the United States and Iran had committed to a diplomatic solution to the conflict, while thanking Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for their roles in the mediation effort.

He added that mediators would facilitate a series of meetings this week ahead of the signing ceremony, with pre-implementation discussions expected to lay the groundwork for technical talks.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, calling it a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and a breach of the April ceasefire understanding between Iran and the United States.

"Iran, while recalling the direct responsibility of the US government for the crimes committed by the Zionist regime and its repeated violations of the ceasefire against Lebanon or Iran, emphasizes its determination to take all necessary measures to exercise its inherent right of legitimate defense," the ministry said in a statement.

"It is clear that responsibility for the dangerous consequences of the Zionist regime’s warmongering for regional peace and security will rest with the United States and the Zionist regime," the statement added.