Trump's truce deal 'includes £223billion for Iran' as staggering details emerge

The deal between the US and Iran would see Washington forced to secure at least 300 billion dollars (£223 billion) to rebuild Iran after the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28

The US will reportedly need to pay $300 billion (or £223bn) towards rebuild Iran under the terms of Donald Trump's new deal with Tehran.

The deal, which would also see the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened, is due to be formally signed in a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday but it is understood to have already been agreed to. "The deal’s all signed. And the strait ⁠is already partially opened," Trump announced as he arrived at the G7 summit in France on Monday.

The agreement would also man an end to all American and United Nations sanctions imposed on Tehran as long as a final agreement addressing Iran's nuclear programme is reached.

Leaked copies of an interim agreement, which officials say broadly matches the document, give details of what will be included in the deal to end the war.

Iran will also be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions as part of the deal. This free sale of oil along with the offer to eventually lift all sanctions goes further than the 2015 Iran nuclear deal which Trump described as the “worst deal ever”.

The terms of the agreement are likely to be met with intense criticism in Washington as the US and Iran prepare to start 60 days of negotiations over the shape of the final agreement.

The agreement also represents a blow to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who committed Israeli forces in joint strikes with the US at the outset of the war on February 28.

The deal calls for an immediate end to all fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. Iran has said that Israeli forces must withdraw under the deal, however Israel has maintained it will continue to defend itself and to occupy vast swathes of Lebanon.

The Trump administration insists the agreement will prevent Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon but so far Iran appears to be making few concessions while reaping a lot of benefit from the agreement in its current form.

The deal is set to restore the region to the pre-war status quo, with an end to hostilities and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while some of the more extraordinary aspects - such as the $300billion for rebuilding the full lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets - are reportedly dependant on the progress of further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya and Bloomberg have leaked details of the deal on Tuesday, with one insider who was briefed on the memorandum of understanding after it was signed and another who viewed a copy beforehand said it largely matched the text of what was reported. Other officials also confirmed that the leaked text broadly matched the final agreement.

The White House and other American officials have not published the terms meanwhile Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, close to its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, claimed on Wednesday that Bloomberg’s version had missing portions.

The deal calls for the US to lift a blockade imposed on Iranian ports and for the strait to return to its pre-war traffic levels in 30 days, while acknowledging Iranian mines may still be in its waters that need to be destroyed.

While the deal says that the eventual lifting of sanctions on Iran will depend on future negotiations, the US will immediately issue waivers on Iranian oil sales, a move which will rob Washington of a major point of leverage over Iran during the coming negotiations.

In the years before the 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian oil faced international sanctions limiting their sales. Only at the conclusion of the overall deal in 2015 were those sanctions lifted.

The interim deal also opens the door to ending all sanctions Iran faces from the US and at the UN – though it says the schedule for that will be worked out later. Still, that is far beyond the 2015 deal, which only lifted some sanctions in exchange for Iran drastically reducing its enrichment and stockpile of uranium.

The accord would also provide Iran with at least 300 billion dollars to rebuild after an intense US and Israeli bombing campaign – an extraordinary figure and another major benefit for Iran. US Vice President JD Vance has said Gulf Arab nations would provide that amount as investments in Iran.

The interim deal sets a 60-day window, which can be extended, to negotiate over limiting Iran’s nuclear programme, which has been discussed at multiple rounds of talks during Mr Trump’s second administration without success. In the interim deal, Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons – a promise that it also made in the 2015 nuclear accord.

Mr Trump has cited shifting goals for the war, including at times vowing it would end Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes and its support for Hezbollah and other proxy groups in the region. He also suggested it could lead to toppling the Iranian government.

The interim deal falls short of all of these goals.

The negotiations also exposed a rift between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump, the Israeli leader’s closest and most important ally, just as Mr Netanyahu is seeking re-election.

Mr Netanyahu has come under heavy domestic criticism over the emerging deal but will be hard pressed to go against Mr Trump, given Israel’s heavy reliance on the US for diplomatic and military support.