The US-Iran-IAEA Trilateral Agreement Confirmed, Gold, Silver, and Oil Experience Volatile Opening

June 15: Israel Undermines Post-U.S.-Iran Peace Deal In the early hours of June 15 Beijing time, both the Prime Minister of Pakistan and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had reached a formal agreement. Trump confirmed approval of unimpeded passage through the Strait of Hormuz and authorized the immediate lift of the U.S. Navy’s blockade on Iran. Iran’s deputy foreign minister further confirmed that the text of the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is final and will be formally signed in Switzerland this Friday, June 19. The Iranian official revealed that the MOU text will be released to the public only after the signing ceremony. Negotiations for a comprehensive final agreement are scheduled to wrap up within 60 days, focusing on four core areas: sanctions relief, the nuclear issue, defining a final framework for Iran’s reconstruction, and oversight and enforcement mechanisms. Prior to this development, Israel carried out an airstrike on Lebanon’s capital Beirut, raising concerns that U.S.-Iran negotiations could hit a new impasse. Reports indicate that Iran canceled its planned retaliatory strike against Israel for the Beirut airstrike at the eleventh hour after Trump intervened via intermediaries. The Iranian deputy foreign minister stated that one of Iran’s key conditions for calling off retaliation was Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Impacted by the easing of Middle East tensions, global markets reacted quickly: spot gold rose 2% at Monday’s opening, spot silver surged past $70, WTI crude oil fell by 5%, Nasdaq futures climbed over 1%, and market participants scaled back bets on a Fed interest rate hike.