Iran and the United States have landed on something rare: a starting point. A tentative memorandum of understanding gives both sides 60 days to hammer out terms on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, with Qatar playing middleman. The draft deal deliberately sidesteps ballistic missiles, focusing instead on enriched uranium stockpiles and a phased path toward reopening Iran’s oil exports.
Iran has approved the preliminary agreement through Qatari mediators. President Trump has not yet signed off.
What’s actually in the deal
The deal includes provisions for third-party monitoring, a mechanism designed to address the verification problems that have plagued every prior US-Iran negotiation since the original JCPOA.
One of the more significant economic provisions involves the potential release of up to $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, contingent on verifiable compliance, meaning Iran would need to demonstrate adherence to the nuclear terms before seeing a dime.
