60-day countdown begins for permanent U.S.-Iran agreement: Vance

WASHINGTON: A 60-day countdown toward a permanent agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran has begun after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday.

The MoU, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in France on Wednesday, triggered a 60-day negotiating period that began on Thursday and is due to expire on Aug. 17, Vance said at a White House briefing.

The MoU was “signed technically today, Iran time,” Vance said, adding that technical negotiations on a permanent deal are expected to begin this weekend.

Vance said he is “certainly planning” to lead the U.S. negotiation team to Switzerland for in-person talks on a final agreement with Iran, but he is not sure when.

A final deal with Iran will address the long-term operation of the Strait of Hormuz, Vance said, noting that a permanent agreement with Iran must ensure the crucial global energy waterway is “never used as a choke point for the global economy ever again.”

“We believe international waterways should be free of tolls,” Vance said, adding that the newly signed MoU “contemplates that the Omanis, the Iranians and the Gulf Coast coalition together will figure out a proper security framework for the straits in the future.”

Vance said the U.S. military has allowed more than a dozen ships through the strait to Iranian ports, lifting the U.S. naval blockade imposed in early April.

The U.S. Central Command also said on X that U.S. forces on Thursday lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, while U.S. warships remain “in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect.”

The release of frozen Iranian assets remains one of the key unresolved issues in the negotiations.

Under the 14-point MoU, the Trump administration pledged to “make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Negotiators have yet to determine how much of Iran’s frozen assets will be released, or when and how the funds would be made available, according to Vance.

Washington and Tehran must also “agree on the procedures related to the release of these funds during negotiations,” he added.

-Xinhua