Iran’s Reformists: Regime Should Voluntarily Halt Uranium Enrichment

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian holds a meeting with members of Iran's Reform Front on July 22 (Iranian Presidency) 
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian holds a meeting with members of Iran's Reform Front on July 22 (Iranian Presidency) 
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Iran’s Reformists: Regime Should Voluntarily Halt Uranium Enrichment

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian holds a meeting with members of Iran's Reform Front on July 22 (Iranian Presidency) 
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian holds a meeting with members of Iran's Reform Front on July 22 (Iranian Presidency) 

Iran's Reformist Front, the highest coordinating body for parties backing President Massoud Pezeshkian, said on Sunday the regime must voluntarily halt uranium enrichment and allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.

In a statement, the Front, a coalition of 30 reformist parties and blocs, has outlined an urgent 11-item plan for structural reforms in both domestic and foreign policy in Iran.

The group also highlighted the significant risks and threats facing the country, particularly following Iran’s recent 12-day war with Israel.

It said advocating for a strategy of national reconciliation and an end to internal and external hostility are the only means to save Iran and create a “golden opportunity for change.”

The Front also warned that the European troika could trigger the snapback mechanism very soon and therefore, expose Iran to Chapter VII of the UN charter and to new sanctions.

The Reformist Front called for a change in all aspects of Iran’s economy, security, military, intelligence and politics.

Key demands included lifting the house arrest of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, releasing political prisoners, and granting a general amnesty to Iranians prosecuted for expressing dissent.

The Front then urged a change in the ruling institution's discourse by focusing on development instead of prioritizing ideological conflicts.

Economically, it advocated for greater equality and opportunities and the creation of a more attractive environment for local and foreign investors.

The statement said regional integration and cooperation with neighbors are essential to bring about lasting peace. It backed the formation of an independent Palestinian state in accordance with the will of its people.

The reformists noted that Iran must cooperate with Saudi Arabia and regional countries to reshape Iran's image as a peaceful and responsible nation.

The Front’s statement came days after Prominent Iranian reformist Mehdi Karroubi on Thursday blasted the ruling establishment’s “disastrous” policies, particularly its nuclear program, accusing it of driving the nation “to the edge of the abyss.”

Meanwhile, former president Hassan Rouhani urged a “new strategy” to reduce tensions with the United States, saying Iran’s waning regional influence, domestic unrest and frayed ties with Europe had emboldened Washington and Israel to launch a June attack on Tehran.

Karroubi, freed in May after 14 years under house arrest for co-leading the 2009 Green Movement, told a group of reformists the government had promised to lift the nation to “the summit” through nuclear power but instead “dragged it to the bottom.”

He said the authorities had failed to offer domestic reforms or free political prisoners, urging senior leaders to “return to the people” and lay the ground for structural change “before it is too late.”

Meanwhile, Iranian reformist media outlets said Karroubi received on Sunday three senior advisers of his ally Mirhossein Mousavi.

 

 



Trump Says Iran Deal Has Been Signed, Text to Come Soon

US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian, central-eastern France on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian, central-eastern France on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Deal Has Been Signed, Text to Come Soon

US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian, central-eastern France on June 15, 2026. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian, central-eastern France on June 15, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Monday said an agreement with Iran has been signed and that the text of the deal would be released sometime after a formal signing on Friday, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would also be fully open.

Speaking alongside ‌French President ‌Emmanuel Macron ahead of this ‌week's ⁠G7 meeting, Trump ⁠said he did not know if he would attend the Friday ceremony expected in Geneva, but that US Vice President JD Vance would be there.

"The deal's all signed. ⁠And the strait is ‌already partially opened, ‌as you know," Trump told reporters shortly ‌after arriving in Evian, France. "On Friday, ‌it'll be completely open."

Vance earlier on Monday said the agreement had been signed digitally on Sunday and that no funds ‌were released.

Asked when the text of the memorandum of ⁠understanding ⁠would be made public, Trump said: "Probably pretty soon. I would say after sometime after Friday... I think sometime in the very near future."

Trump said any sanctions relief for Tehran was "really a behavioral thing. If they do what they're supposed to do, that starts taking effect."

There was no immediate response from Tehran to the report that the agreement, which both sides announced overnight, had already been signed. Previous reports from both sides had suggested it would be signed officially at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday.  

In an early reminder of the agreement's fragility, Israel - which launched the war alongside the United States in February and was not consulted on the talks to end it - struck a car with a drone in southern Lebanon, where it has been battling the Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement. Iran has said the deal must bring a full cessation of hostilities there. 

The terms of the memorandum of understanding, reached after more ‌than two months of ‌negotiations, have yet to be published. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ‌he expected ⁠the terms would ⁠be made public in the next 24-48 hours. 

Oil prices tumbled on the prospect of an end to disruption to global energy supplies, and share prices soared, some hitting new records. 

Trump, who had earlier said the blockaded Strait of Hormuz would be open on Friday, said on Monday that ships had already begun transiting it. However, the US military told shippers it had not yet lifted its blockade of Iranian ports. 

60-DAY NEGOTIATION PERIOD 

According to accounts from both sides, the agreement would reopen the blockaded strait and extend a ceasefire for a 60-day negotiation period, when contentious issues such as the future of Iran's nuclear program are due to be decided. 

Meanwhile, ‌the immediate fate of the pact could hinge on Lebanon, where Israel has been battling the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group in parallel with the wider ‌war that it launched alongside the United States against Iran in February. 

Iran has said the preliminary agreement requires a cessation of ‌hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Israel, which was not consulted on the preliminary deal, has said it reserves the right to act in Lebanon against Hezbollah threats. 

Security sources said fighting in southern Lebanon had tamped down on Monday after the agreement was announced but had not ceased entirely. 

In the first strike of its kind since the announcement, an Israeli drone struck a car in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Tebnit, killing the ‌driver, Lebanese state media reported. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike. 

LEBANON HAS BEEN A STICKING POINT  

While the US and Iran had largely ceased hostilities ⁠in early April, fighting has not ceased ⁠in Lebanon, where Hezbollah opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2 and Israel responded with an air campaign and ground invasion that has uprooted some 1.2 million people. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there must be a complete halt to Israeli attacks against Lebanon and wrote on Telegram that the US bears responsibility for implementing the framework deal. 

Hezbollah welcomed the deal and said the inclusion of Lebanon reflected Iran's commitment to securing a halt to the war and preserving Lebanon's rights. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond publicly to the US-Iran agreement. But Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would remain "indefinitely" in areas it is occupying in southern Lebanon to eliminate what it perceives as militant threats.  

Privately, Israeli officials' views of the deal have been negative. One senior Israeli official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the agreement was "terrible for Israel," and that this assessment was shared throughout the government from Netanyahu on down. 

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would help solve a global energy crisis precipitated by the war, which has hurt Trump's political fortunes by forcing up gasoline prices in the United States. 

"Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!" he wrote on Sunday. 

On Monday he announced: "Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz." 


Somaliland Opens Embassy in Jerusalem

 Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (L) is welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog (R) at the presidential residence in Jerusalem, 14 June 2026, during his first visit to Israel. (EPA)
Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (L) is welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog (R) at the presidential residence in Jerusalem, 14 June 2026, during his first visit to Israel. (EPA)
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Somaliland Opens Embassy in Jerusalem

 Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (L) is welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog (R) at the presidential residence in Jerusalem, 14 June 2026, during his first visit to Israel. (EPA)
Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (L) is welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog (R) at the presidential residence in Jerusalem, 14 June 2026, during his first visit to Israel. (EPA)

Somaliland opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, Israel's foreign ministry announced, months after Israel became the first country to recognize the breakaway African state's independence.

"Honored to host my dear friend President @Abdirahmanirro at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during his historic State Visit to open Somaliland's embassy in Jerusalem," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X, during the first-ever state visit of President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.

"I'm proud of the privilege I had to write the first pages in the story of the Israel-Somaliland relationship," Saar added.

Somaliland is the eighth country to open its embassy in Jerusalem, following the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Fiji.

Most foreign diplomatic missions to Israel are located in Tel Aviv, as the status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In December, Israel became the first country to recognize the independence of Somaliland since it declared its autonomy from Somalia in 1991 following a civil war.


Trump Arrives with Iran Deal to Meet Wary World Leaders at G7 Summit

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attend a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attend a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Arrives with Iran Deal to Meet Wary World Leaders at G7 Summit

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attend a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attend a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump joined global leaders on Monday at the Group of Seven summit at a French lakeside resort, where relief over a deal to end the Iran war was tempered by unease over new US tariff threats aimed at France.

Trump was met at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains by Emmanuel Macron's chief of protocol ahead of a bilateral meeting with the French president. According to a prior planning document, Macron had been due to welcome Trump himself.

"Everything is very nice, thank you," Trump told reporters as he arrived, just hours after securing a preliminary deal with Iran that is one of several issues G7 leaders will wrestle with during the June 15 to 17 summit.

They will also seek common ground on the war in Ukraine, tackling global economic imbalances and sourcing critical minerals outside of the dominant supplier China.

LEADERS WARY OF TRUMP

Global leaders are increasingly wary of the United States and, underscoring the tensions, Trump told ‌the New York Post ‌before leaving for France he would "have no choice" but to apply 100% tariffs on French wine ‌unless Paris ⁠eliminates its digital ⁠tax on US tech giants.

Then, in a social media post just before arriving at the summit, he turned to a subject that has been a regular source of tension with centrist European allies: immigration.

"Sadly, if you import people from Third World Countries, you quickly become a Third World Country — And there's not a thing you can do about it," he wrote.

Trump's tariff threats come ahead of a summit that serves as the diplomatic culmination of Macron's second and final term and represent a blow for the unpopular French president.

Macron, who steps down next year, is increasingly seen as a lame duck at home but still has pull on a global stage. He was able to get Trump to agree to a glitzy ⁠dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday to mark 250 years of US independence.

Macron told ‌TF1 that France would not yield to Trump's threats, adding, "tariffs don't do anyone any good, ‌especially tariffs between G7 countries."

TRUMP REMAINS UNPREDICTABLE

Trump's comments on tariffs and immigration underline why he is viewed as a volatile partner by other G7 leaders.

Many ‌of them have been directly impacted by unilateral Trump decisions that have upended the Middle East, global trade and diplomacy, and prompted ‌deeper soul-searching over the US commitment to the post-war global order it helped establish.

During the summit, Trump is due to meet Middle Eastern leaders and attend a working session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The Tuesday meeting comes as Russian advances in Ukraine have slowed and Ukraine seeks more military funding from its allies, amid a barrage of attacks on Kyiv.

"This attack only strengthens our determination to do everything, with our allies and partners, to work towards a ceasefire that ‌Russia stubbornly refuses, then to peace. We will work on it at the G7," Macron said in a post on X.

Zelenskiy said on Monday he had offered to meet Russia's President Vladimir ⁠Putin at the G7 summit ⁠for talks to end their more than four-year-old war, but Putin was not ready to speak.

Zelenskiy's hand has improved since Trump famously told him in the Oval Office last year: "You don't have the cards." But he may find greater US support elusive as Trump prioritizes drawing a line under the Iran conflict, which has dented his support domestically.

DETAILS OF IRAN DEAL

G7 leaders will be keen to learn the details of the US-Iran deal. A memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be signed on Friday in Switzerland but precise terms are unclear.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports.

France and Britain have been working on a military plan to send a mission to the region that would help open the Strait, although that would depend on Tehran's green light.

The leaders are not expected to have detailed discussions of what should be done, assuming the deal is signed, with Iran's highly enriched uranium, its ballistic program or frozen Iranian assets. These issues will entail complex, technical negotiations.

At the summit, Macron also wants to push for action on global macroeconomic imbalances. But Trump's warning on tariffs may cause some friction, particularly as French officials had said the digital tax would not be an issue for the G7.