THE United States and Iran have digitally signed and released a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the illegal and unprovoked war launched by President Donald Trump and Israel in February.

The memorandum was signed by Mr Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday as leaders gathered at the G7 summit of Western powers in France.

G7 leaders welcomed the interim deal while calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and asserting that follow-up negotiations must ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

The US president told a press conference: “We’re going to bomb the hell out of them [Iran] if they violate the agreement.”

Iranian officials did not immediately respond to Mr Trump’s latest threat. The US-Israeli war has killed thousands of Iranian civilians, but not notably affected the country’s military capacity.

Meanwhile, he appeared to soften one of the justifications he had previously offered for attacking Iran, saying it would be “unfair” for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles after earlier vowing to eliminate Iran’s arsenal of such weapons.

Iran and the US released the full text of the digitally signed MoU, which establishes an immediate ceasefire and a 60-day timetable for negotiating a final settlement. 

The agreement calls for an end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, while both sides pledge to respect each other’s sovereignty and refrain from the use or threat of force.

Tehran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Iranian television: “Everything we sought to achieve through military action, we obtained several times over through negotiation. It was not even comparable.”

Under the MoU, the US has committed, together with its regional partners, to formulate a reconstruction and economic development plan for Iran worth at least $300 billion (£221bn), with an implementation mechanism to be finalised during negotiations on a permanent agreement. 

Iran has agreed to facilitate the safe passage of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day negotiation period and to work towards restoring traffic to pre-war levels, while the US will begin lifting its naval blockade and halt interference with Iranian shipping. 

Meanwhile, the leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Italy, Canada and the US issued a joint statement demanding an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

Although strikes in Lebanon have eased since the memorandum was agreed on Sunday, Israeli attacks on the country have not stopped.

Israel, which did not participate in the negotiations and continues to keep troops on the ground in southern Lebanon, claims the right to continue its occupation.