News and politics live updates: Donald Trump and Iran sign peace deal as Strait of Hormuz set to reopen

Iran’s chief negotiator has branded the newly signed US-Iran peace agreement a defeat for US, arguing the deal demonstrates Iran successfully resisted American pressure during months of conflict.

Speaking on state television after the release of the memorandum of understanding, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared, “The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge.”

Mr Ghalibaf also signalled that Iran intends to impose fees on vessels using the Strait of Hormuz once a 60-day toll-free period expires.

“Payment of service fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz has been formalised in the memorandum of understanding,” he said.

Donald Trump has confirmed he personally signed the newly agreed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding while attending a dinner at the Palace of Versailles with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Speaking to reporters as he departed the historic French venue, the US President was asked whether he had signed the agreement designed to end hostilities between Washington and Tehran.

“Did you sign the MOU?” a reporter asked.

“It’s signed, yeah... I signed it in Versailles,” Mr Trump replied.

The deal had originally been expected to be formally signed in Switzerland later this week.

The newly signed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding guarantees toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for the next 60 days, although the agreement leaves open the possibility of future fees being introduced.

Despite that provision, senior US officials have expressed confidence the crucial shipping route will remain open without tolls.

The framework also establishes a $US300 billion ($424 billion) reconstruction fund for Iran, although US officials insist Washington will not be directly funding the program.

While the agreement restates Tehran’s commitment not to acquire or develop nuclear weapons, the most contentious issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear activities have been deferred to the next round of negotiations.

Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have formally signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the agreement into effect ahead of a planned signing ceremony in Switzerland.

Reports indicate Mr Trump signed the document while attending the G7 summit in France before a copy was sent to Tehran for Mr Pezeshkian’s signature. Iranian Foreign

Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed the agreement had been finalised, saying, “The text of the Iran-US Memorandum of Understanding has now been officially finalised because both sides have signed it.”

He added, “Now if we review the text, we will see that we have not left anything unsaid during this period” and “We had more or less stated everything.”

The planned signing ceremony and talks in Switzerland have now reportedly been cancelled.

SpaceX just pulled off the greatest feat of financial engineering in history over a week that saw its shares rocket 49 per cent in three sessions after the biggest initial public offer of all time.

Investors should expect more fireworks as Elon Musk’s supporters benefit from his iron grip over Wall Street, alongside an ability to bend markets and institutions to his will.

The hype and aura around Musk saw SpaceX raise $US75 billion at a $US1.77 trillion valuation at $US135 per share by issuing a tiny 4.2 per cent of its total shares on issue to trade freely on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. On Wednesday, shares eased 5 per cent lower to $US191.50, after hitting as high as $US213.80 in volatile trade.

Musk and his Wall Street partners also handed an unusually large amount, around 20 to 30 per cent, of the shares issued to retail investors, who’ve collectively earned 49 per cent in a week thanks to the soaring stock price.

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Donald Trump has defended his decision to strike a ceasefire deal with Iran, arguing the alternative risked triggering a global economic crisis.

Speaking to reporters, the US President said he was determined to avoid an outcome that could destabilise international markets, comparing the potential fallout to the economic turmoil associated with the Great Depression.

“So, the one thing I didn’t want to see is I didn’t want to see economic catastrophe,” Mr Trump said.

“If you kept this going, that could have happened.”

Mr Trump also revealed US forces deliberately avoided targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure during the conflict, despite carrying out strikes elsewhere. He said damaging energy supplies would have sent shockwaves through the global economy.

“I didn’t want to ruin the world market,” he said.

“I didn’t want to do that, no. It would have been so easy and I would have satisfied a group of 10 per cent of the people, but it would have been the wrong thing to do.

“It could have caused an international depression…maybe not.”