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people were killed. Iran says fighting must end in Lebanon and other fronts to enforce the deal.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told BBC Urdu that today’s signing ceremony in Geneva is cancelled as the memorandum of understanding has already been signed remotely.

The US vice-president, JD Vance, was expected to sign the deal at a more formal ceremony in Geneva today.

American forces yesterday lifted their parallel naval blockade of Iranian ports that had prevented ships from sailing to or from the Islamic republic, the US military said, noting that American warships “will remain in the general area”.

The memorandum of understanding calls for the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and lifting of a US blockade of Iran’s ports. Though shippers say it will still take time for transit across the strait to reach pre-war levels, with a need yet to ensure safe access and clear mines, there were immediate signs of an impact.

Ships which once might have concealed their positions by switching off their transponders were now broadcasting their locations, poised to transit the strait. Three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying 6 million barrels of crude and a French-flagged LNG tanker left the Gulf through the Hormuz, a tracking platform said.

Benchmark Brent crude futures prices fell by another 2 percent to below $78 a barrel, lowest since the shooting began. US consumers saw some relief at the fuel pump, as the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline fell below $4 for the first time since March, according to the AAA motor club.

The US military, which had enforced its own blockade after Iran shut the Strait at the start of the war, has allowed at least 12 ships to pass through, JD Vance said.

Before the war, the strait saw around 120 transits per day, according to the shipping journal Lloyd’s List.

Vance said he planned to go to Switzerland for “technical negotiations” with Iran “this weekend” rather than Friday, but emphasised that the plan “could change”.

In Iran, the Tasnim agency said “nothing has been confirmed” about the Iranian delegation’s trip to Switzerland.

The deal should bring an end to the current US-Israeli conflict with the Islamic republic, which saw five weeks of all-out war until a ceasefire was struck in early April.

But some in Tehran expressed a downbeat mood at the prospects for peace.

“I have no hope that this is a lasting agreement. Maybe after the 60 days they start fighting again,” said Mina, 54, a psychologist from Tehran.

Under the MoU, the US, Iran and their allies agreed to an immediate and permanent ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, and to conclude a final agreement within 60 days.

The US pledged to lift its blockade of Iranian ports immediately and withdraw forces from areas near Iran within 30 days of a final deal.

Washington also commits to immediately waive oil sanctions crippling Iran’s economy and gradually lift sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets.

And once a final agreement is reached on Iran’s nuclear programme, the United States will facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund supported by regional nations, the deal says.

US officials also said Iran would dilute its enriched uranium stocks, possibly by “down-blending on site” under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iran’s ballistic missile programme was not mentioned in the agreement, despite Israel’s longstanding push for its dismantling.

Iran agreed to restore commercial shipping through the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, with traffic resuming immediately and returning to full capacity within 30 days after mines are cleared from Hormuz.

Any final agreement will be backed by a binding UN Security Council resolution.

Trump’s decision to end the war, in which 13 US service members were killed, and a vast proportion of US ammunition stockpiles was used, has unsettled some of his allies at home.

US Senator Bill Cassidy from Trump’s Republican Party described it as the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.

Apparently anticipating such criticism, Trump said at a G7 summit that he was prepared to “bomb the hell” out of Iran if they violated the agreement.

“These fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are ‘tumbling’ down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid,” Trump added on social media yesterday.

There has also been some criticism from hardliners within Iran, where the conflict was described as an “imposed war” and compared to the 1980-1988 conflict with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

But parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf insisted the deal represented a US “failure”, while Pezeshkian called it “historic”.