The memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran has revealed 14 points that would end the ongoing war and immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation, as senior US officials linked the path to lifting sanctions on Tehran to its compliance with nuclear matters, affirming that the verification period for good faith would not exceed days or weeks.
The memorandum's opening provisions call for an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and commit both parties to respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, with negotiations to reach a final agreement within 60 days. The provisions also include lifting the US naval blockade immediately upon signing the memorandum, and Iran taking immediate steps to ensure the resumption of navigation through Hormuz.
On the economic front, the points include a US commitment to draw up a plan for rehabilitation and economic development in Iran, an obligation to end all forms of sanctions imposed on it, the issuance of exemptions for Iranian crude oil exports upon signing the memorandum, and the release of frozen or restricted Iranian funds and assets. In return, Tehran pledges never to produce nuclear weapons, while maintaining the status quo until a final agreement is reached.
The memorandum sets out a mechanism for moving forward, based on entering final agreement negotiations after signing and beginning to implement the provisions on lifting the blockade, resuming navigation, oil exemptions, and the release of assets, in addition to establishing a mechanism to oversee successful implementation of the agreement and future compliance, with the final agreement to be endorsed by a binding UN Security Council resolution.
A White House official explained that sanctions relief would be proportional to Iran's compliance with nuclear matters, noting that if Iran failed to comply as expected, Washington would discover this within days or weeks, not months. The official affirmed that Tehran would not attempt to approach enriched nuclear materials, and that any such attempt would be dealt with immediately, adding that the damage inflicted on Iranian nuclear facilities had been extensive and highly effective.
The official added that the destruction or removal of enriched nuclear materials from Iran is at the top of the Trump administration's priorities, and that the question of their disposal would be raised at the first meeting to be held in Geneva at the end of this week. He noted that Iran does not possess the equipment necessary to extract these materials, and that it requires American or Chinese equipment to do so.
Regarding the implementation track, the official explained that the Switzerland meeting would be of critical importance in determining the next phase, as the current document reflects the intentions of the parties, while an executive body would be established to monitor the implementation of the memorandum of understanding and the parties' compliance with the final agreement in the future. He confirmed that the United States, upon signing the memorandum, would commit to issuing exemptions for Iranian oil exports, and that Tehran would maintain the status of its nuclear programme with no new sanctions imposed on it until a final agreement is reached.
On the matter of sanctions, a senior US official, according to Reuters, indicated that Washington would permit their lifting if a final agreement were reached and the Iranian side behaved in good faith, warning however that President Trump would not hesitate to use all available tools if no agreement were reached. The official revealed that the United States now controls the southern line of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the blockade it had imposed as effective.
In characterising the relationship between the two capitals, the official noted that there is ongoing communication between Tehran and Washington, perhaps every hour or on a daily basis, but that trust between them remains extremely fragile.