Iran’s official news agency IRNA on Friday published the current outlines of a draft memorandum of understanding with the US, offering a more detailed picture of Tehran’s position and highlighting both similarities and differences with details of the proposed deal previously reported by Axios.
The IRNA report outlined seven key areas covered by the draft memorandum. One area of overlap between the two accounts concerns the existence of a 60-day negotiating period following the signature of the memorandum.
Axios reported that the agreement would include a 60-day “extension” of the ceasefire while nuclear talks continue. The IRNA account also refers to 60 days of negotiations following the signature of the memorandum but says those talks would focus on only three issues: Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, lifting US sanctions, and compensation for war-related damages.
The two reports differ, however, on the nature of the ceasefire arrangement.
Axios described a 60-day “extension of the ceasefire,” including in Lebanon. IRNA rejects that characterization, saying the memorandum calls for a “decisive end” to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and specifically states that the term “ceasefire extension” does not appear in the text.
