For a relatively short “memorandum of understanding,” the draft agreement between the United States and Iran is .
This is because language and sequence are everything – every word will be analyzed and debated; every connection between one element and another will be scrutinized.
For example, will the 60-day process outlined in the memorandum be defined as an extension of the weeks-long ceasefire or as a definitive end to hostilities?
Even though the document is limited to one page that briefly addresses about a dozen points, as many reports suggest, it is not that simple.
“We need a diplomatic solution that is very clear about the topics the parties are willing to negotiate and the extent of the concessions they are willing to make initially to make it worthwhile,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.
The sequence of a process that must unfold over two months is crucial.
The point we are at
Iran and the United States have reached out to transform the existing ceasefire into a more lasting solution, US officials said on Thursday.
The following day, however, US President Donald Trump made a series of demands – regarding the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian nuclear program and the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad – that were not well received in Tehran.
Trump’s claims, in a social media post, were “a mix of truth and lies” and an attempt to project a “fabricated victory”, the semi-official Fars news agency said.
“The ‘requirements’ that the Americans mention are, in fact, requests,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.
Therefore, it appears that the memorandum of understanding is still, at best, in development. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday that he had spoken with Trump, who “asked him to reiterate how patient he is to make sure that, with the United States engaged in this kind of historic endeavor, that any agreement is good, great, and he is patient in pursuing that agreement.”
Reopening Hormuz is a key first step
Both sides see the agreement on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as a first step after a three-month shutdown of the crucial waterway that has caused a sharp rise in the price of crude oil and other goods.
“The Strait of Hormuz must be immediately opened, without tolls, to unrestricted maritime traffic, in both directions,” Trump said on Friday, with Iran being responsible for demining the sea crossing.
At the same time, the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would be lifted, Trump said.
Iran would allow shipping through the strait to return to pre-war levels over a 30-day period, according to some reports on the memorandum of understanding. Maritime sector sources say the industry will want a period of sustained calm before sending ships back down the route.
Trump insisted on free and unimpeded navigation; Iran continues to insist it has the right to manage traffic through the international waterway, in association with Oman. Finding a language that resolves this impasse will be a challenge.
Ships remain anchored on May 16 in the Strait of Hormuz, near Larak Island, Iran. photo Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Iran wants “intelligent management of the Strait of Hormuz,” according to Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, in an interview on Friday. “Iran’s control measures and arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz are permanent in nature and certainly not temporary,” he said.
Trump warned Oman – a traditional Western ally – against any deal with Iran. “Oman will behave like everyone else, or we will have to blow them up,” the US president said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. “They understand that. They’re going to be fine.”
How the restoration of navigation will be synchronized with Tehran’s demand for an immediate end to the US Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports will also be crucial.
As of May 29, 115 commercial vessels have been rerouted to ensure that no goods enter or leave Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command.
“By maintaining the naval blockade and making excessive demands in negotiations, [Trump] he has proven once again that he is not committed to negotiating and that he pursues other goals,” Mohsen Rezaei, an advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Saturday.
Iranian state media claim that the memorandum will require the withdrawal of US military forces from the vicinity of Iran along with the end of the blockade and that “military ships are not included in this commitment” to reopen the strait.
Trump did not mention a US withdrawal in his statements on Friday.
The nuclear archive
Only when the memorandum of understanding is signed will the 60-day deadline for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program begin, including the fate of Tehran’s highly enriched uranium. This was the main issue on the table during negotiations mediated by Oman last year and in February this year.
Uranium is an essential nuclear fuel that can be used to build a nuclear bomb if enriched to high levels. Iran is believed to possess more than 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
Trump repeated his red line on Friday. “Iran must agree that it will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said on social media.
The US president also said that Iranian stocks, which are likely buried after US attacks last June, will be dug up in a joint US-Iran operation and destroyed – a claim that was quickly repudiated by Iranian state media.
Trump says he wouldn’t want uranium sent to Russia or China. Russia has repeatedly offered to receive the material.
US President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House on May 27. photo Win McNamee/Getty Images
It is unclear how or whether Iran’s extensive stockpiles of less-enriched uranium will be part of the negotiations.
Azizi, the senior Iranian lawmaker, said on Friday that “Iran does not intend to transfer its enriched uranium to a third country.”
The initial memo is not expected to address Iran’s nuclear enrichment program in detail. Trump has previously said that a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment would be acceptable. According to sources, Iran suggested a much shorter suspension.
Iran’s frozen assets
Iran’s economy was already in serious trouble before the war began, and the rate of deterioration has increased considerably since then.
A written message, purportedly from Ayatollah Khamenei, released on Thursday called on parliament to “prioritize reconstruction, economic stability and recovery from the damage caused by war.”
Iran demands the immediate release of billions of dollars in assets. But a senior US official told CNN last week that the unlocking of frozen Iranian assets would only occur after the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
In an apparent reference to those assets, Trump said Friday that “no money will be exchanged until further notice.”
People shop in a store in Tehran, capital of Iran, on April 28, 2026. photo Majid Asgaripour/WANA News Agency/Reuters More
If Tehran and Washington reach an agreement on the memorandum, $24 billion (20.58 billion euros) in Iranian assets could be unlocked, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday. Half of that amount could be unfrozen when the deal is announced, the same agency added.
There have also been discussions about an investment fund for Iran that would provide billions of dollars for the country’s reconstruction once a final agreement is reached. The US would not invest in the fund, and most of the money would come from Gulf nations.
Iranian officials estimated last month that the US and Israeli strikes caused $270 billion worth of damage (about $231 billion).
Sanctions
Officials have used the refrain “no nuclear dust, no dollars” to link the removal of highly enriched uranium to Tehran’s financial demands.
As in the case of Iran’s frozen assets, sanctions imposed on the country will only be lifted when the Strait of Hormuz is open and fully functioning again, a US official told CNN.
The Iranian economy suffers from a series of international sanctions, most imposed by the US and Europe. These sanctions are not expected to be lifted immediately, but rather linked to the nuclear issue.
“Details should be negotiated after the memorandum is finalized,” Baghaei said.
Iran estimates that removing sanctions on oil sales alone could generate nearly $10 billion (8.58 billion euros) in revenue for the government over a 60-day period, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Lebanon
It is also unclear how or whether the conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon will be addressed in any memorandum. Last week, Iranian officials emphasized that the memorandum of understanding will apply to “ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
People look at the damage at the site of an Israeli attack in Tyre, southern Lebanon, on May 28, 2026. The Israeli army said on May 28 that it had begun new attacks against Hezbollah on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, after issuing an evacuation warning to all residents. photo Kawnat Haju/AFP/Getty Images
In recent days, Israeli forces have extended their ground incursion deeper into southern Lebanon and ordered new evacuations, while Hezbollah continued to fire drones and rockets at Israel and inflict casualties on Israeli troops inside Lebanon.
The ceasefire agreed at Washington’s request in mid-April survives in name only, and the Trump administration has intensified its support for the Israeli campaign.
The US president told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that he supports the country’s desire to “maintain freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon,” an Israeli official told CNN.
And finally: trust – and verification
Negotiations are clouded by a continued lack of trust on both sides. Iranian officials never tire of saying that the country was attacked twice by the US in the last year while negotiations were ongoing.
“We do not rely on guarantees or words – only actions serve as a measure,” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagheri Ghalibaf, said on Friday. “No action will be taken until the other side acts.”
