On Tuesday, the Iranian regime declared its triumph after reaching a tentative ceasefire agreement with the United States, signaling an end to the hostilities that lasted 110 days. This conflict began on February 28, 2026, when Washington and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran's military and nuclear facilities.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Iran's Supreme National Security Council formally announced the agreement on June 14. This deal calls for an immediate and lasting cessation of hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon, and the complete lifting of the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
The memorandum of understanding, dubbed the "Islamabad negotiations" due to Pakistan's mediating role, is set to be officially signed this Friday, June 19, in Switzerland. Qatar is also acknowledged by Tehran as a crucial diplomatic facilitator.
As reported by the regime's agency, the agreement includes U.S. recognition of Iran's and Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also involves a commitment to release at least $12 billion of Iranian funds frozen due to oil sales.
The most sensitive issues, such as Iran's nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions, are postponed to a second negotiation phase, contingent on the initial commitments of the memorandum being fulfilled.
Iranian authorities frame the agreement as a survival victory for the regime rather than a conventional military triumph.
"The enemy thought the country would collapse during the war, and that the market, administrations, and system would cease to function. But that did not happen," President Massoud Pezeshkian stated during a conference in Tehran before provincial governors and mayors.
The regime endured despite the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the conflict's early hours, the deaths of numerous commanders, and a severe pre-existing economic crisis worsened by massive protests in January 2026, which were suppressed with unprecedented violence.
Iranian authorities acknowledge 3,117 deaths in those protests, while the human rights organization Hnara has identified over 7,000 fatalities and is investigating 11,000 other disappearances. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump estimated 42,000 Iranian civilians were killed due to the regime's repression.
This internal weakness prompted Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to believe a military strike could topple the regime from within.
"Trump and Netanyahu were confident the population would take to the streets to overthrow the system. What they failed to understand was that the population was fearful after what happened in January; they didn't want to risk their lives without the certainty of achieving something," a local journalist told the Iranian agency.
The Revolutionary Guard, having learned from the "12-Day War" of June 2025, responded more swiftly in this new conflict, launching missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in the region.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi cautioned that future negotiations would occur in a climate of profound distrust: "We are planning the negotiation process and agreement implementation based on distrust, past commitment breaches, and previous experiences."
Araqchi was also firm on the nuclear program: "There is no military solution to Iran's nuclear program. The only solution is diplomacy. That's why the United States has returned to the negotiation table."
Skepticism about the agreement's durability is widespread, with the second phase of negotiations — addressing the nuclear program and sanctions relief — shaping up as the true diplomatic battleground between Washington and Tehran in the coming months.
Key Questions About the Iran-U.S. Agreement
What are the main points of the Iran-U.S. agreement?
The agreement includes an immediate ceasefire, U.S. recognition of Iran's and Lebanon's sovereignty, and the release of $12 billion in Iranian funds. Sensitive issues like the nuclear program are deferred to later negotiations.
Why is there skepticism about the agreement's durability?
Skepticism stems from the history of distrust and previous breaches of commitments, as well as the unresolved issues concerning Iran's nuclear program and sanctions, which are to be addressed in a second negotiation phase.
What role did Pakistan and Qatar play in the negotiations?
Pakistan acted as a mediator, giving the negotiations the name "Islamabad negotiations," while Qatar was recognized as a key diplomatic facilitator by Tehran.