- The initial framework was signed by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. A formal signing ceremony will occur on Friday in Geneva.
- The first round of negotiations will be to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return traffic to normal. The U.S. will not reduce military force in the region until further into the negotiations.
- Details of the framework are expected to be publicly released within the next 24-48 hours.
Officials in the United States and Iran announced a preliminary framework aimed toward ending the monthslong conflict in the Middle East, paving the way for an end to all hostilities in the coming weeks.
The agreement, described as a “memorandum of understanding” by senior U.S. officials, was signed by both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance over the weekend as well as by Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament. The framework establishes an agreement to cease military action for 60 days as officials in both countries continue negotiations for longer-term issues.
The initial framework is a commitment from Iran to work with the U.S. to verify it is not developing a nuclear weapon nor is it “funding radicalism and terrorism in the region,” according to senior U.S. officials. If those expectations are met, the U.S. will welcome Iran into the world economy by offering “a combination of sanctions relief and other economic measures.”
“That’s the basic template here: If they’re willing to behave like a normal country, then we’re willing to treat them like a normal country,” a senior U.S. official told reporters in a press call on Monday.
The framework is set to be signed by both parties on Friday in Geneva. Meanwhile, top administration officials including Vance will continue to hash out “technical details” such as what to do with Iranian assets that had been frozen by the U.S. earlier this year.
Full details of the memorandum are expected to be released publicly within the next two days, according to senior officials. Here’s what we know so far about the deal, and what else we are awaiting details on.
‘Immediate opening’ of the Strait of Hormuz
One of the main agreements in the framework is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed or heavily restricted since the conflict began in late February.
Senior officials say the memorandum committed an “immediate opening,” although those officials acknowledged a complete reopening could take weeks to return to normal. Before the conflict began, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply was transported through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a spike in oil prices over the last few months as it experienced closures.
It could take up to two weeks for traffic to return to normal as the Iranians must remove mines they had placed around the waterway.
“But you will see a significant increase in traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, actually starting already — and that will ramp up slowly over time,” a senior U.S. official said. “We probably won’t return to normal in two weeks, but we will see a significant increase in strait traffic.”
Will the U.S. fully withdraw?
While the agreement establishes a 60-day ceasefire from both ends, the U.S. will not begin withdrawing troops right away, officials say.
The plan, as described by senior U.S. officials, is to keep the current military force in place while negotiations continue. A reduction in force could occur as soon as a final deal is signed by both parties.
“We want to see again the Iranians do what they promise they’re going to,” one official said. “The agreement contemplates the reduction of military forces in the region upon the agreement of a final deal.”
Future of Iran’s nuclear program
The first iteration of the framework does not contain a finalized agreement on what is next for Iran’s attempted development of a nuclear program, but senior officials say those details would be hammered out in the next round of negotiations.
The goal, according to one official, is that there will be more details to share publicly in the next 30 days.
Still, senior officials say the agreement is a major win so far because Iran has learned it cannot attempt to develop nuclear weapons without economic consequences, which U.S. officials say has been a main factor.
“I think they realize that they would love to get a nuclear weapon if they can, but they know that if they choose that path, No. 1, our intelligence is threatful that we’ll know,” one official said. “And No. 2, we have both the will and the capability to do something about it. So they’re economically weaker than they’ve ever been, they are obviously much more degraded militarily than they’ve ever been.”
What are we still awaiting details on?
The fate of Iranian assets that had been frozen over the last few months remains the biggest question heading into final negotiations. U.S. officials made clear that those assets would only be released if Iran meets the expectations laid out in the framework.
Any release of those assets or relief from sanctions would be “based on performance,” senior U.S. officials said.
Questions on whether to make the Strait of Hormuz effectively “toll-free” will also be part of later negotiations.