The US and Iran just signed a deal to stop shooting at each other, and the fine print is where things get interesting. The memorandum of understanding finalized on June 17, 2026, by Presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian doesn’t dismantle the sprawling sanctions regime built up over decades. It carves out a narrow exception, granting Iran immediate waivers to sell oil freely, while everything else stays locked down.
What the 14-point deal actually does
The MOU is structured around a 60-day negotiation period. During that window, the two sides will attempt to resolve the thorniest issues in the relationship, chief among them Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran has pledged to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. In return, the US has committed to not imposing additional sanctions during the negotiation period. Existing sanctions stay. New ones are paused. The broader UN, US, and EU sanctions architecture remains fully intact pending a final resolution that may or may not materialize within those 60 days.
The deal also commits both sides to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. The strait had been blocked during the conflict, which is a bit like someone parking a semi-truck across the only exit of a parking garage that holds roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil transit.
