The US and Iran signed to end their war on Wednesday (Jun 17), paving the way for a broader 60-day negotiation period due to begin in Switzerland on Friday .
Titled the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, t he agreement defers many of the most difficult issues, including how to wind down Iran's nuclear programme, until a final deal is reached.
Iran insisted the deal represented a US "failure" while US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to "bomb the hell" out of Iran if Tehran violated its terms.
CNA takes a closer look at the 14-point agreement:
Ending the war "on all fronts"
The first point of the agreement states that the US, Iran and allies declare an "immediate and permanent" termination of military operations on "all fronts", including in Lebanon .
It continues that " from now on", the parties will not initiate any military operation against each other, and they must "refrain from the threat or use of force against each other".
The agreement also made mention that both sides would ensure the "territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon".
" The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph," it stated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who helped convince Trump to launch the war, has insisted Israel is not bound by any agreement in its fight against Iran -aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Though hostilities there have abated since Trump rebuked Netanyahu this week , further escalation could threaten the talks. Iran says the deal also requires a ceasefire in Lebanon .
Respecting sovereignty
The second point of the agreement states that both nations are to "undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs".
Iran is deeply suspicious of Trump, who twice in the past year attacked in the middle of negotiations.
Whether or not the Iran ians are willing to compromise could also hinge on their supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei , considered more hardline than his father , who was killed along with the new leader’s mother, wife and son in a US-Israeli strike.
The US will also be distrustful, watching to see if Iran is stringing them along, as Trump aides say they have experienced before.
The 60-day timeline
The clock started ticking as soon as the ink dried.
According to the third point in the document, b oth sides must commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal within a maximum of 60 days. This deadline is only extendable with mutual consent.
The US-Iran deal is unlikely to produce a comprehensive agreement within its proposed 60-day timeframe, according to Johns Hopkins University professor Steven David.
"The notion that somehow they're all going to be concluded in 60 days, I think, is ludicrous," the professor told CNA.
He suggested that Trump was under pressure to end a conflict that had fuelled economic pressures in the US ahead of November's midterm elections.
"Clearly, President Trump was concerned that this war with Iran was very unpopular with the American public," he added.
"He was under a lot of pressure ... to get a deal with Iran that would enable the United States to claim victory and stop the conflict."
Strait of Hormuz
Points 4 and 5 are maritime-related and cover the US' naval blockade, as well as the use of the waterways in and around the Strait of Hormuz .
The fourth point of the agreement states that the US will fully end the naval blockade against Iran within 30 days.
During this period, the traffic of vessels will be "in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic" being restored by Iran and that the US "fu rther undertakes to remove its forces" near within 30 days after the final deal .
Meanwhile, point 5 states that Iran will make arrangements "using its best efforts" for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa.
The agreement specifies that the traffic of commercial vessels will "immediately start" be instated within 30 days.
It furthers that Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states "in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz".
Questions remain about the strait, which Iran effectively blocked, triggering a global energy supply shock, after the US and Israel attacked on Feb 28. Under the MOU , the waterway, which normally carries one-fifth of the world's oil, will be reopened on Friday, but shippers remain cautious.
The US says it will be toll-free. Iran , which gained leverage with control of the channel that it lacked pre-war, insists it will retain a management role.
Reconstruction of Iran
Under p…
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