U.S. and Iran sign deal ahead of schedule

The U.S. and Iran have remotely signed their memorandum of understanding to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and the agreement is now in effect, two U.S. officials told Axios.

• President Trump signed the agreement, one official said, and Trump later confirmed it.

Why it matters: The signing was supposed to happen in Switzerland on Friday, but a diplomat from a mediating country and a second source familiar told Axios earlier on Wednesday that there had been discussions about signing and implementing it sooner.

• The diplomatic source said discussions about accelerating the timetable were intended to reopen the strait before Friday because both parties had agreed on that issue.
• Another factor may have been political pressure on the White House to release the memorandum's text. The source familiar with the discussions claimed it was Iran that demanded the text not be published until the formal signing, and denied the White House was responding to political pressure.
• A senior administration official read the agreement to reporters in a briefing call Wednesday, after days of confusion about what was in it.

The latest: French President Emmanuel Macron on X shared video of Trump signing the document during a dinner at Versailles, saying the agreement "paves the way for lasting peace and allows the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz."

• Trump can be heard saying in the video as he signed the document: "This was not easy, I can tell you."
• Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X that the leaders of the U.S. and Iran had signed the memorandum of understanding "and as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade."

What's next: The meeting between the U.S. and Iranian delegations headed by Vice President Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf is still expected to take place as planned on Friday in Switzerland, the sources said.

• They are expected to discuss the launching of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

The intrigue: A senior administration official told reporters that the deal was signed electronically on Sunday by Trump, Vance and Ghalibaf.

• The diplomatic source claimed no such signing had taken place. The source familiar claimed it did happen and this was a "second signing." It's unclear why two signings were necessary.

Go deeper: What Iran gets out of the deal

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details on Trump confirming the signing of the memorandum of understanding and comment from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.