United States and Iran sign Versailles memorandum to reopen Hormuz

party that signed the memorandum and withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018

The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

party that signed the memorandum and is required to restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz

Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, historically known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the northeast, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With a population of over 92 million, Iran ranks 17th globally in both geographic size and population.

preliminary memorandum intended to end the conflict and reopen Hormuz

waterway the memorandum is intended to reopen

Hormuz is a city on Hormuz Island and the capital of Hormuz District, Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan province, Iran.

energy chokepoint whose commercial traffic and safe passage the deal seeks to restore

The Strait of Hormuz is a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam Peninsula under the Musandam Governorate of Oman, with a portion of the southwest of the peninsula under the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The strait is about 104 miles long, with a width varying from about 60 mi to 24 mi.

party to the Iran bargain and member of the G7

The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

given 60 days with Tehran to negotiate a final settlement

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington state to distinguish it from the national capital; both are named after George Washington, a U.S. Founding Father and the first U.S. president. Washington borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the south, and Idaho to the east; it shares an international border with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north.

given 60 days with Washington to negotiate a final settlement

Tehran is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is also the capital of Tehran province and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9 million in the city, and 16.8 million in the metropolitan area, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and West Asia, the largest metropolitan area in the Middle East and the 24th-most-populous metropolitan area in the world.

covered by the text and referenced in the memorandum’s ceasefire language

Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi).

not a party to the memorandum

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaches the Red Sea, and to the east is Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea.

waterway area where Iran Air 655 was shot down

Gulf Province is a province of Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast. The provincial capital is Kerema. The 34,472 km2 province is dominated by mountains, lowland river deltas, and grassland flood plains. In Gulf Province, the Kikori, Turama, Purari, and Vailala rivers meet the Papuan Gulf. The province has the second-smallest population of all the provinces of Papua New Guinea with 106,898 inhabitants.

country bordering the Strait of Hormuz

Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, while also sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. Oman's coastline faces the Arabian Sea to the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast.

U.S. president who signed the memorandum for Washington

Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

Iranian president representing Tehran’s civilian government

Masoud Pezeshkian is an Iranian politician and heart surgeon who has served as the ninth president of Iran since 2024. A member of the reformist faction, he is the oldest person to serve in this position, taking office at the age of 69.

speaker of Iran’s parliament and chief negotiator in the current talks

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is an Iranian politician, pilot, and former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) brigadier general, who has served as Speaker of the Parliament of Iran since 2020. As of April 2026, he has been described as handling the strategic matters of Iran.

French president who hosted the Versailles signing moment during G7 diplomacy

Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. He has been a member of Renaissance since founding the party in 2016. Macron previously served as Deputy Secretary-General to the President from 2012 to 2014 and Minister of Economics and Finance from 2014 to 2016 under President François Hollande.

group backing implementation while seeking broader constraints on Iran

The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is organized around the shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government. G7 members are major IMF advanced economies.

Pakistan’s prime minister presenting Pakistan as a mediator

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Pakistan since 2024, having previously been in the role between 2022 and 2023. He has also served as the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and chief minister of Punjab three times, spanning over 12 years, making him the longest-serving person in the role.

presented as a mediator

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population in the world as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area.

UN nuclear watchdog that would supervise any uranium dilution

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.

abbreviation for the International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.

body associated with the nuclear watchdog

The United Nations (UN) is an international intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations on 26 June 1945 with the articulated mission of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among states, to promote international cooperation, and to serve as a centre for harmonizing the actions of states in achieving those goals.

base of the International Atomic Energy Agency

Vienna is the capital, most populous city, and one of the nine states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. Its larger metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.9 million, representing nearly one-third of the country's population.

Iran-backed Lebanese armed movement and political party central to the Lebanon ceasefire language

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party with an active paramilitary wing whose military and security activities have been prohibited by the Lebanese government since March 2026, amid Israel's war on Lebanon. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength was assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army in 2016.

produced a 2012 analysis describing Hormuz as the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of a ligand in a liquid sample using antibodies directed against the ligand to be measured.

1987-1988 conflict during which U.S. forces escorted tankers

The tanker war, part of the larger Iran–Iraq War, was a series of military attacks by Iran and Iraq against merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz from 1981 to 1988. Iraq was responsible for 283 attacks. Iran accounted for 168.

2015 nuclear agreement that offered sanctions relief for nuclear limits

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, was an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalized in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 together with the European Union.