US President Donald Trump signed the long-awaited memorandum of understanding on the US-Iran peace deal during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Versailles on Thursday. While Trump sat next to Macron, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed him the agreement.
Before putting pen to paper, Trump said: “This was not easy.” After signing the document, Trump raised it and presented the agreement to those gathered in the room.
“Tonight in Versailles, President Trump signed the agreement between Iran and the United States. This agreement paves the way for a lasting peace and allows the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It is an important step in the right direction for our citizens that will soon enable lower energy prices,” Macron said, welcoming the agreement, in a post on the X website.
On the Iranian side, its President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the agreement.This development represents a major step towards easing tensions after months of escalating hostilities in the region, including military clashes between Iran, Israel and the United States. The agreement, officially titled “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” sets out a road map for a ceasefire, expanding economic cooperation, easing sanctions, and holding future talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
It was not clear whether the signing would trigger the start of a 60-day period for negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement. Questions also remain about how Trump’s signing of the document at Versailles differed from his earlier digital approval of the deal on Sunday. Versailles has been the site of many landmark treaties throughout history, many of which were related to the conclusion of wars and territorial disputes. The most notable of these was the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which officially ended World War I. Its punitive terms on Germany have been cited by some historians as contributing to the political and economic conditions that later helped fuel World War II.
