According to confirmed reports from multiple official sources, including those in Iran, the United States, and Pakistan, Iran and the US have broadly reached an agreement on the next phase of a memorandum of understanding. On June 14th local time, Pakistan is expected to host a video conference, where representatives from Iran and the US will attend and sign the document.
Right now, Iran’s main concerns are ending all military conflicts and regional tensions across the Middle East, lifting the US naval blockade, and unfreezing its assets. But they’ve made it clear that they’re not diving into the nitty-gritty of the nuclear issue just yet.
That’s why this memorandum sets up a two-step plan. The first phase focuses on stopping the fighting and restoring stability in the region, including in Lebanon, and addressing Iran’s core survival worries mentioned above. In return, Iran’s key concession is reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In the second phase, both sides will kick off formal talks on the nuclear issue and related matters. The mechanisms for this are expected to be hammered out over the next 60 days.
Given the US’s shaky track record in past negotiations, Iran is staying on high alert about Washington’s ability and willingness to follow through. They want a phased approach with strict enforcement rules to prevent the other side from backing out.
According to reports, the most eye-catching part of the latest agreement draft is that Tehran has agreed to neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons. Until a final deal is reached, they’ll maintain the nuclear status quo—meaning no uranium enrichment or expansion of nuclear facilities. The US, in turn, has agreed to let Iran dilute its existing stockpile of high-enriched uranium.
Weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, with over 90% purity, is the core material for an atomic bomb. Making a typical nuke usually needs 20 to 50 kilograms of this stuff.
Just a day earlier, US President Donald Trump posted on social media that once things calm down, the US would look for a chance to dig out the enriched uranium buried under mountains, then dilute and destroy it—whether that’s in Iran or back on US soil.
For a long time, the toughest issue in US-Iran talks has been limiting Iran’s nuclear program. Trump previously demanded that Iran hand over all of its roughly 408 kilograms of high-enriched uranium. Either the US would ship it back to America for destruction, or it would be destroyed on-site under international watch. He was clearly against shipping it to third countries like China or Russia.
On the flip side, Iran wanted to dilute the stuff on its own to 3.7% (civilian nuclear fuel standards) or 20% (for research reactors), all under the watch of the International Atomic Energy Agency. They linked this uranium disposal directly to the US lifting sanctions and unfreezing their overseas assets.
Under the draft agreement, Iran could also immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz for all commercial ships. In exchange, the US would unfreeze $25 billion of Iran’s assets, using methods like direct cash transfers, cooperation with regional countries, and credit lines.
These frozen assets mainly come from Iran’s oil and gas exports to various countries before 2018, which made up about a quarter of Iran’s GDP at the time. Because of US long-arm jurisdiction, the money is locked up in bank accounts across multiple countries, with the biggest chunks sitting in Luxembourg, South Korea, India, Iraq, and Qatar.
On top of that, both sides are talking about a reconstruction and economic development plan related to war reparations.
The conflict started on February 28th. That day, a joint US-Israeli airstrike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His funeral, delayed several times, is now set for July 4th to 9th across three cities—Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad. His body will finally be buried in his hometown of Mashhad at the Imam Reza Shrine.
