A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been made between the United States and Iran, which is formally set to be signed on Friday, 19 June in Geneva, Switzerland. This has been confirmed by both a statement by the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a post on the social media platform Truth Social by US President Donald Trump.
In the post, President Trump declared that he fully authorizes the toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; while also ordering the ‘immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade’ of Iranian ports. ‘Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!’ President Trump ended his message.
However, the statement of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council does not mention the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, only the lifting of the US naval blockade—which also means that it does not negate the crucial waterway’s reopening declared by President Trump.
‘Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!’ President Trump on Truth Social
In a later post on Truth Social, the POTUS clarified that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened on Friday, upon the signing of the deal.
Oil prices slumped after the news broke of an MOU being made between the US and Iran. Futures contracts for the American-produced WTI crude oil are now trading at around $80–$81 a barrel, the lowest since 4 March, and well below the highs of $112 during the conflict. The British-produced Brent crude oil is currently trading at around $83 a barrel, while the UAE-produced Murban crude is at around $78 a barrel.
In an interview with Fox News, US Vice President JD Vance has stated that: ‘What the president has done is create the real space to transform that region. And now, hopefully, a new era with the Iranians.’
These major developments happened to take place on President Trump’s 80th birthday, 14 June.
What Is in the US–Iran Deal?
A document with the official text of the MOU is yet to be released to the public; the press only has information based on the two sides’ description of the deal.
The National Security Council’s statement stresses that ‘The war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, will end immediately and permanently as of tonight.’
That is why the Israeli Defence Forces’ bombing of Beirut, Lebanon yesterday was believed by many to have threatened the reaching of the deal. Some even suspected willful sabotage by Israel. However, President Trump strongly condemned the air strikes and asked the Israeli military to stop. Israel complied, and air strikes ceased.
President Trump and his associates, on the other hand, emphasize Iran’s commitment not to produce or by any means procure a nuclear weapon.
Trump has been remarkably consistent throughout his political career about his opposition to Iran having nuclear missiles. During the US–Iran conflict, which started on 28 February, he publicly stated multiple times that the primary objective of the operation is to prevent the nuclear armament of Iran.
The Republican leadership is stressing the nuclear prevention clause in the agreement to differentiate between the new US–Iran MOU and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed by the US and Iran under President Barack Obama in 2015. JCPOA allowed for uranium enrichment by the Iranian government for civilian use. However, critics, such as President Trump, argued that enriched uranium for nuclear energy production can quickly be further enriched into weapons-grade uranium, posing a major security threat.
A crucial piece of information: Iran does not dispute that the deal includes Tehran’s commitment not to acquire a nuclear weapon. In fact, this has even been reported in Iranian state media.
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