Vice President JD Vance is seen in the White House during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, February 28, 2025. (Credit: White House / Daniel Torok)
Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that a Memorandum of Understanding to end the war between the US and Iran had already been signed “digitally” on Sunday night and that the text would be released in the coming days, though an official signing ceremony is still expected to take place this Friday in Geneva.
An unnamed US official also told reporters on Monday that the agreement was signed by Vance, President Trump, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, though so far that hasn’t been confirmed by Tehran.
In a series of interviews, Vance denied Iranian media claims that Iran would immediately gain access to $12 billion in its frozen funds, but he did suggest Tehran could eventually have access to a major Gulf-funded reconstruction fund.
“That’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf coast coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation,” Vance said in an interview on CBS News when asked about reports of a potential $300 billion reconstruction fund.
The message from Iranian officials on Monday was that the deal is a “victory” for Iran, though they stressed that fulfilling the MOU hinges on whether there is an end to Israel’s war in Lebanon, where Israeli attacks continued on Monday.
The Friday signing ceremony is expected to start a 60-day period during which the US and Iran will negotiate other issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Vance said the US would lift sanctions on Iran if a nuclear deal is reached, though the two sides still appear to be far apart on the terms.
“If the Iranians are willing to give a long-term commitment — along with proper verification — to giving up that nuclear weapon, we’re willing to welcome them into the world economy to lift some sanctions and to turn over a new leaf in that relationship,” Vance said on Good Morning America.
Iran has always maintained that it doesn’t seek nuclear weapons, and there was no evidence before either the June 2025 war or the current conflict that it was pursuing a nuclear bomb.
In the lead-up to the February 28 joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, Vance became one of the leading voices in the administration who was making the claim that the coming conflict was about preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, contradicting President Trump’s insistence that US airstrikes in June 2025 “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. At one point, Vance even claimed there was evidence Iran was trying to “rebuild a nuclear weapon,” something Iran has never had.
This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.
