Abbas Araghchi Says Iran-US Memorandum Would End Conflict Across All Fronts, Including Lebanon

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said a proposed memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US would formally end the conflict across all fronts, including Lebanon, and he said the war began on Feb. 28.

Speaking to state broadcaster IRIB, Araghchi said, “The end of the war will be declared on all fronts, including Lebanon,” and he said the document would lay groundwork for negotiations on sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear program, and regional security arrangements.

Al-Jarida Al-Ghad

Araghchi said negotiations would proceed in two stages, with stage two addressing sanctions relief, uranium enrichment, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, and a reconstruction fund for Iran, and he said stage two negotiations are expected to last 60 days.

He added that if commitments in the memorandum are not implemented, Iran would not move to stage two, and he said the Strait of Hormuz “is under the sovereignty of Iran and Oman.”

Araghchi also said Iran would charge service fees rather than impose transit tolls and said the maritime blockade imposed on Iran must be fully lifted under the proposed memorandum.

Araghchi told media outlets to avoid speculation about the pending Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding while negotiations continued, writing, “Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content.”

On the US social media platform X, Araghchi also said, “In line with our responsible and transparent approach, all details will be shared with the public in due course,” as he urged restraint from journalistic outlets regarding the specifics of the deal.

Al-Jazeera Net

The South China Morning Post reported that a Trump administration senior official said the US was “80-85 per cent” confident of signing the peace agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war in the Middle East.

That same senior official said the arrangement reopens the strait, lifts the blockade and dismantles the Iranian nuclear programme, and the report said Washington envisions a “tactical negotiation” period of 60 days.

The Arab News account added that President Donald Trump rejected Iranian accounts of the draft deal, quoting Trump on Truth Social: “What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth.”

Disputes over the Strait of Hormuz have exposed divisions within Iran’s leadership, with CNN quoting an Iranian affairs expert at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Dani Sitrenovich, saying, “These internal divisions are not merely political theater; they reflect a deeper struggle over Iran's long-term strategy toward the United States.”

“Fars News Agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, criticized the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's post about the 'Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding', arguing that his stance was characterized by ambiguity and did not directly respond to accusations by U”

Al-Jazeera Net

Masrawy reported that Araghchi wrote on Friday on X that the Strait of Hormuz is open to navigation, while official Iranian media confirmed “full oversight of the passage by the Iranian armed forces,” and said the passage would be void if a naval blockade continued.

Masrawy also quoted Sitrenovich saying the debate revealed “significant internal tensions within the Iranian leadership,” and he described “growing distrust between elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)” and the more pragmatic political leadership led by President Bezhkian and Foreign Minister Araghchi.

In parallel, Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Reza Talaei Nik said the Hormuz Strait is open only in the case of a limited and conditioned ceasefire, and he added that if pressure is applied on “the brothers and sisters in Lebanon,” conditions will revert to what they were previously.

The Iran International account said the disputes and clashes among Iranian regime officials and supporters over whether to continue the war or reach an agreement were sparked by Araghchi’s announcement of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and by Trump’s statements about the naval blockade remaining in place.