President Donald Trump has hailed the newly signed Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) as a breakthrough that normalizes relations between the two countries after months of fighting. But by the White House's own account, the agreement settles few of the issues that dominated months of negotiations, leaving sanctions relief, frozen assets and Iran's nuclear program for a new round of talks."This is really just the first MOU and then we're going to launch into the real technical discussions later this week," a senior administration official told reporters Monday. The memorandum, signed digitally by Trump and Vice President JD Vance Sunday, kicks off a 60-day period for technical talks aimed at a final agreement.A formal signing ceremony with U.S.
and Iranian officials, along with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, is planned for Friday.Yet even administration officials acknowledge that the memorandum leaves many of the most contentious issues unresolved. "We'll know over the next two to three weeks whether those understandings will turn into an actual agreement," a senior administration official said. TRUMP MAY HAVE WON A STRATEGIC PAUSE IN IRAN.
NOW COMES THE HARD PARTNate Swanson, a former senior advisor on Iran policy to successive administrations and now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the memorandum appears to postpone rather than resolve disputes over sanctions relief, Iran's nuclear program and the future of the Strait of Hormuz."It does not appear to resolve the core issues surrounding the mechanics of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian nuclear concessions, or Iranian financial incentives and sanctions relief," Swanson wrote in an analysis published by the Atlantic Council.The MOU, signed digitally by Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, kicks off a 60-day period for technical talks aimed at a final agreement.A formal signing ceremony is planned for Friday. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)The remark was striking given that U.S....