The US-Iran MOU is silent on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. What are the other fault lines? Explained | Today’s news
The United States and Iran announced an interim deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ending a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and paving the way for 60 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
According to a Bloomberg report, officials from both countries are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on June 19 to formally sign the deal, although the absence of a publicly released text suggests several key issues remain unresolved and will be addressed in the next phase of talks.
Read also | US-Iran peace deal: Reopening of Hormuz to ease fertilizer supply concerns
But US President Donald Trump promised on Saturday that a deal would be reached on Sunday – his 80th birthday – and pushed hard for it to go ahead.
“This Grand Deal will bring peace and security to the entire region,” Trump said in a post on social media. He said the strait would open on June 19 after the agreement was signed and the waterway cleared of mines, Bloomberg reported.
Major outstanding or contested issues include:
Relief from penalties
The main difficulty in the negotiations is the question of frozen assets and relief from sanctions.
But Reuters, citing a senior Iranian official, said the United States had agreed not to impose new sanctions on Iran as long as the talks continued. The official also said Washington would temporarily waive oil-related sanctions and eventually lift all US and UN sanctions on a mutually agreed timetable if a final deal is reached.
In addition, the US reportedly agreed to release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets through a combination of direct cash transfers, regional financial cooperation and credit facilities.
Administration of the Strait of Hormuz
The MoU aims to restore the passage of civilians Strait of Hormuzbut disagreements persist over who will control the waterway. Iran insists on managing the strait under a sovereignty-based agreement with Oman, including the ability to levy service fees, while the United States supports keeping it fully open without Iranian fees or interference.
Read also | US-Iran peace deal: Here’s a draft memorandum of understanding
Differences also persist in rules for warships, enforcement mechanisms and implementation schedules. Iran has indicated it expects a post-deal governance role, contradicting the US position.
Separately, the United States and Iran announced a deal aimed at ending the wider regional conflict and reopening the strategic strait, bringing relief after months of violence and economic disruption.
Few details have been released, but President Trump has said that Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil supplies, that Iran blocked since the start of the war, would reopen.
“The deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” President Trump said on Sunday. “Ships of the world, start the engines. Let the oil flow!”
Lebanese ceasefire and regional representatives
The extent and enforcement of Lebanon’s Hezbollah-Israeli ceasefire remains disputed. Iran favors an arrangement that preserves its influence through allied groups, while the United States and Israel are concerned about limiting proxies and preventing Hezbollah from rearming.
Israel has criticized the proposed framework, arguing that it does not adequately address its security concerns or ensure effective monitoring and enforcement on the ground, particularly regarding compliance by armed groups in Lebanon.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also echoed the sentiment, calling the deal “bad for Israel,” AFP reported.
Smotrich also called for a stronger campaign in Lebanon. “We will be judged in Lebanon. This is our war, our soldiers and the immediate safety of our northerners,” he said.
The claim that “Trump’s war has killed thousands, mostly in Iran and Lebanon” is broadly consistent with available reports that put the total death toll in the thousands across the wider conflict, particularly in Iran and Lebanon.
Nuclear program
Most of the key nuclear issues were pushed back to a 60-day negotiation period.
Furthermore, the MOU does not fully address the fate of Iran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium. These include the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, such as whether it will be removed, diluted or reprocessed under international verification.
Other important points are enrichment limits and the duration of the moratorium, with reports suggesting 12-15 years or more, potentially followed by a gradual renewal.
Read also | Hormuz, sanctions, nuclear program – Trump’s 15 conditions for an Iranian ceasefire
The status of nuclear facilities, control and verification mechanisms, and whether there will be permanent dismantling or a binding ban on armaments also remain unresolved.
However, many other issues would still need to be resolved, including the duration of a possible suspension of Iran’s nuclear program, whether key nuclear facilities will be dismantled, and the management of 20% and 5% enriched uranium stockpiles. Other outstanding issues include the future of Iran’s advanced centrifuges, its research and development activities, and the extent and rigor of any inspection and verification regimes.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said the U.S. would go in, get the material and “take it down and destroy it,” but gave no timetable. An Iranian official said only that Iran agrees to “dilute” the stockpile on its own, but no mechanism has yet been determined, Reuters reported.
“This deal is probably the best possible outcome to avert another conflict, but it’s no better than what could have been achieved if the United States had pursued diplomacy rather than war in the first place,” said Victoria Taylor, a former deputy assistant secretary of state now at the Atlantic Council think tank.
It remains unclear whether the final agreement will improve on the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama, which aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, but which Trump later abandoned in 2018.
Ballistic missiles
Iran opposes the inclusion of major nuclear concessions in the original memorandum of understanding. The development of ballistic missiles and related capabilities is also expected to be part of these broader negotiations.
A significant US demand before the war was that Iran limit the range of its ballistic missiles so that they could not hit Israel. Iran has always maintained that its right to conventional weapons is non-negotiable and that it still has a large arsenal.
Trump fumes when compared to Obama’s Iran nuclear deal
Trump has sharply criticized former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal, arguing that it failed to prevent Iran from progressing toward a nuclear weapon and effectively provided the Islamic Republic with billions of dollars in financial benefits. In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from an agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union.
But Trump’s deal is expected to include some sanctions relief and economic incentives for Tehran as it meets certain criteria aimed at easing the White House’s concerns, the AP reported. In a new interview with The New York Times, Trump rejected comparisons to the Obama-era nuclear deal.
“We negotiated as hard as we could,” Trump said. “He was basically paying them off.
Implementation, timelines, enforcement and leverage
Key aspects of the agreement remain unclear, particularly the order of steps, verification systems, enforcement measures if either side violates the terms, and the overall framework of a potential long-term deal. Mutual mistrust between the parties is significant, with reports suggesting the existence of competing proposals and questions about Iran’s internal approval processes.
Details of the deal are still emerging after weeks of tense negotiations that have been accompanied by regular warnings from Trump of renewed hostilities if a deal is not reached.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said the United States would release $12 billion in frozen assets to Iran before formal negotiations begin. It also cited the 14-point memorandum of understanding, which states that approximately $24 billion in Iranian funds will be unfrozen during a 60-day negotiation period after the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
The announcement of the agreement was greeted with international relief and hope for a permanent end to the conflict.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was a “critical step” to resolve the war in the Middle East.
The UK, France, Germany and Italy said they were ready to lift sanctions on Iran and would work “with the US, Iran and regional partners to seize the moment, maintain momentum and reach a long-term diplomatic settlement”.
(With input from agencies)
