What’s in the proposed deal that could end the US-Iran conflict?

Summary The United States and Iran are negotiating a memorandum of understanding that could end their recent conflict. Major sticking points include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and the freezing of Iranian assets. Major disagreements remain over the timetable for lifting sanctions and control of the strategic waterway.

The AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

Iran and the United States have signaled they are moving closer to a deal to turn the existing ceasefire that ended weeks of conflict into a more lasting settlement.

Both sides are talking about a “memorandum of understanding” that would establish a road map to resolve all outstanding issues, although no deal is expected to be reached today.

But the content of this memorandum remains unclear.

The central tenet of this approach is that the memo, once signed, would end the fighting, which would be good news for both sides as US President Donald Trump faces midterm elections later this year and Iran’s economy is in crisis.

Recent versions of the memorandum of understanding that Trump appears close to finalizing would also provide for the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, according to a person familiar with the matter. A countdown would then begin to iron out other sticking points such as Iran’s nuclear program.

However, Iranian state media have expressed doubts whether the memo would be accepted. Differences “on one or two clauses of the possible memorandum of understanding persist,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Sunday.

And after saying the deal was “extensively negotiated,” Trump said the United States would not rush to make a deal.

Here’s what we know about some of the key issues at stake.

US President Donald Trump wrote on social media on Saturday evening that the key waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, would be reopened under the memorandum.

But several Iranian media outlets, including some close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on Sunday that the strait would remain under Iranian surveillance. Over a 30-day period, Iran would allow shipping to return to pre-war levels.

Iran is demanding that the U.S. blockade on its ports be lifted at the same time, but in a social media post Sunday, Trump said, “The blockade will remain in full force until an agreement is reached, certified and signed,” apparently referring to a final deal rather than the memorandum.

Iranian media have stressed that reopening the waterway to navigation does not mean Tehran is giving up its war claims on this strategic chokepoint. Indeed, Iran appears to indicate that even as it allows commercial traffic to return to pre-war volumes, it still intends to maintain a greater degree of control over passage through the strait than existed before the conflict.

“The strait is already open, but coordination with the relevant Iranian authorities must be ensured to ensure security of transit,” an Iranian source told CNN on Sunday.

“The Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with America. It is a problem between us and the coastal countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismaeil Baghaei said on Saturday, particularly with Oman.

During the conflict, Iran said it had the right to impose fees on commercial ships transiting the strait.

Iran’s uranium stockpiles and enrichment

A potential deal between the United States and Iran includes a commitment by Iran not to seek nuclear weapons, CNN reported Sunday. Iran would also undertake to begin negotiations on the abandonment of its stock of highly enriched uranium and to suspend any further enrichment, according to a source close to the matter.

Iranian officials have insisted that uranium negotiations can only begin once a memorandum ending the war is agreed. Uranium is a key nuclear fuel that can be used to build a nuclear bomb if enriched to high levels.

“Nuclear issues are not being discussed at this stage,” Baghaei said on Saturday.

The semi-official Fars news agency said Sunday that “Iran has not made any commitments in this deal regarding handing over nuclear stockpiles, withdrawing equipment, closing facilities, or even pledging not to build a nuclear bomb.”

Trump has repeatedly insisted that, one way or another, Iran will have to give up the more than 400 kilograms (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium it has. Much of it is believed to have been buried after US strikes last year.

The initial memorandum is not expected to address enrichment in detail, and finding a way to bridge differences between the two sides will be one of the major challenges of a comprehensive deal. Trump cited Iran’s nuclear program as a key reason for the attack and has previously said a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment would be acceptable.

With its economy in dire straits, Iran is demanding the immediate unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets held in banks abroad.

“At the very beginning of this process, the status of the release of blocked assets must be clarified,” Baghaei said.

Citing a “informed source,” Tasnim said on Sunday that “without the release of a specific portion of Iran’s blocked assets in this very first step – as well as a clear mechanism for the guaranteed and continued release of all blocked assets – there will be no deal.”

But a senior US administration official told CNN on Sunday that the unfreezing of Iranian assets would only be effective once the Strait of Hormuz reopens.

The United States has given no commitment on how these assets, held in several foreign banks, would be returned to Iran.

Iran’s economy also suffers from a wide range of international sanctions, most imposed by the United States and Europe.

“The lifting of sanctions will not be discussed in this short period of time,” Baghaei said on Saturday, even though “Iran’s demand to lift all sanctions is explicitly in the text.”

“The details will have to be negotiated once the memorandum is finalized,” he added, suggesting that the suspension of sanctions would be linked to the nuclear issue.

Iran estimates that lifting sanctions on oil sales alone could generate nearly $10 billion in revenue for the government over a 60-day period, the official Fars news agency reported.

As with Iran’s frozen assets, sanctions on Iran will only be lifted when the Strait of Hormuz is open and fully functional again, a US official told CNN.

During the conflict, U.S. officials said Iran’s long-range ballistic missiles must be destroyed. Trump said his “conventional ballistic missile program is growing rapidly and dramatically.” But there has been less talk recently about the idea of ​​the missile arsenal being part of broader negotiations, even though Israel and the Gulf Arab states see it as an urgent risk.

It is also unclear how or if the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon will be resolved. Tasnim reported on Sunday that the wording of the memorandum refers to “declaring the end of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

But Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he supported the country’s desire to “maintain freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” an Israeli official told CNN.

In a call with Trump on Saturday evening, Netanyahu “emphasized that Israel will maintain its freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated his support for this principle,” the official said on Sunday.

Ultimately, Iran insists it is ready for a “fair and balanced deal,” the Iranian source told CNN on Sunday. “The most important thing for us is that the war ends definitively throughout the Middle East.”

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