By Jacob Burg
and Jack Phillips
Contributing Writers
The memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and restrain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions was revealed by senior U.S. officials on Wednesday.
The deal, which was read by a senior U.S. official in a call with reporters, requires Iran to immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls during a 60-day period of negotiations.
Iran has also agreed to, at a minimum, downblend its stockpile of enriched uranium. The deal allows for potential future economic relief if Iran responds favorably to the United States’ demands.
The agreement would also allow Iran to sell its oil without restrictions. The deal provides for a 60-day window for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Additionally, once all parties sign and ratify the memorandum of understanding, the United States will begin removing its naval blockade around Iran, one official said.
The memorandum of understanding calls for the United States, along with regional partners, to develop a $300 million fund for Iran’s reconstruction and economic development after the damage incurred by the war, a U.S. official said.
The plan won’t be implemented until after 60 days, and the United States will grant any licenses, waivers, or permissions required for the relevant financial transactions, according to the deal.
A U.S. official explained that the United States will not be directly funneling money into the reconstruction fund, but will rather permit sanctions relief if the Iranians comply with the deal.
This could take the form of a nation, such as the United Arab Emirates, building a power plant in Iran, the official added.
Speaking at the annual G7 summit in France on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the memorandum will likely be signed by Thursday or Friday.
“We’re going to most likely sign a deal. [Iran wants] to sign a deal, and they’ve been acting very appropriately,” he said.
Trump warned that if negotiations collapse within 60 days, or if Iran doesn’t fulfill its end of the deal, “we go back to bombing.”
Trump: US will not invest ‘any money’ in Iran rebuild
Trump disputed claims that the Trump administration will invest money in a fund for Iran’s reconstruction as part of a deal to end hostilities.
“We are not investing any money in Iran, by the way, and … that rumor got out there yesterday was ridiculous,” he told reporters at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday. “We have the right to go in some day and do, if I want to do something, or if somebody wants to do something, but we are not investing any money.”
Trump, in a Monday post on X, also dismissed reports of the Iranian regime possibly getting a large sum of money from the United States under a peace deal that was announced on Sunday.
“Iran has agreed to never have a nuclear weapon! Also, the story that the U.S. is paying Iran $300 million is fake news,” he wrote in the post.
U.S. and Iranian officials said on Sunday they had agreed on a framework to end their war, which began when U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. The deal ends the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and will fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route for global oil and gas.
The Trump administration said that the decision to launch the strikes was to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
After CNN published what it said was a leaked version of the deal, White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote in a Wednesday post on X that it “does not reflect the language of the actual” memorandum of understanding signed by both parties.
Iran has not published an official version of the deal. The country’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency said on Wednesday that another reported version had missing portions.
Before the agreement was reached on Sunday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Iran would not get any up-front financial rewards and also denied what he said was false information about the deal.
“I’m seeing a lot of fake information about a potential deal to reopen the Strait and end Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” he wrote in a June 12 post on X.
“First, the Iranians are not receiving any cash, and no funds are being released for simply signing a deal or attending a meeting. The deal is structured to ensure that the U.S. and its allies’ concerns are prioritized, and that if the Islamic Republic of Iran meets its obligations, then economic benefits will flow to them and to the entire region.”
Vance added that people who were praising Trump for his actions against Iran are “now criticizing a deal based on unconfirmed media reports,” adding that “people who say you can’t trust a word said by the IRGC … apparently believe anonymously sourced social media posts.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
