Axios says a proposed US-Iran deal covers the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and enriched uranium limits.

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US, Iran reach MoU on 60-day truce, Trump’s approval pending

The United States and Iran reportedly reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thursday, agreeing to extend the ceasefire between the two countries for a further 60 days and to begin negotiations for permanently ending the war, officials said.

Official US sources have told Al Jazeera that the framework still needs President Donald Trump’s final approval.

Neither the US nor Iran have made any comment about the MOU as regional tensions continue, however.

Citing a source close to the ⁠negotiating team, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim ⁠news ⁠agency reported that ⁠the text of the MOU had not yet been finalised or confirmed, and the public would be notified once that occurred.

Here’s what we know so far about the MOU, its terms, aims and what it means for the war.

According to a report by US news outlet Axios, citing two unnamed US officials and one unnamed regional source involved in the mediation efforts, the MOU will include agreements about the following:

According to media reports, the MOU will state that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is to be “unrestricted”, meaning there will be no tolls, no “harassment”, and that Iran will have 30 days to remove all mines.

The ongoing US naval blockade on Iranian ports will also be lifted “in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping” through the strait. The US will also waive a number of sanctions on Iran, allowing it to sell oil freely.

The issue over control of the strait has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations between the US and Iran – mostly conducted via Pakistani mediators.

Since early March, Iran has restricted shipping through the narrow waterway linking the Gulf to the open ocean, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are shipped during peacetime. Iran has allowed the passage of a few vessels from select countries, but they have been required to negotiate transit with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – with some paying tolls of as much as $2m per ship at points during the conflict.

In April, the US began a corresponding naval blockade on Iranian ports, further adding to the disruption of global oil and gas supplies.

In its previous proposals to end the war, Iran has referred to charging transit tolls for vessels. Washington and other countries have repeatedly rejected the prospect.

Under international maritime law, countries whose territorial waters cover natural straits such as Hormuz are not permitted to charge tolls for passage. They may, however, charge fees for “services” to ships passing through.

The MOU will also reportedly include a commitment from Iran not to work towards building a nuclear weapon. During the 60-day window following the start of the new agreement, the first issue to be discussed in peace talks will be Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, and how to dispose of Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium.

The issue of enriched uranium has also been a bone of contention between the US and Iran.

Iran is believed to be holding an estimated 440kg (970lb) of uranium enriched to 60 percent, short of the 90 percent required for weapons-grade material, but at the point at which it becomes much quicker to reach 90 percent.

Tehran has said for years that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only and it does not intend to build nuclear weapons. But Israel, the US and other Western countries allege that Iran is in fact preparing to have the capacity to build nuclear weapons. They argue the 60 percent enrichment level achieved so far is well above what is needed for a civilian nuclear energy programme – between 3 and 5 percent enrichment.

The US wants this stock to be handed over to it, but Iran has rejected this idea. It was reportedly willing to consider transferring it to a third party, however. Last week, it was reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a directive that Iran’s enriched uranium should not be sent abroad at all.

Since the war on Iran began, it has also emerged that on February 26, during informal negotiations with the US in Geneva two days before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, Tehran had offered to “downblend” the stockpile from 60 percent enrichment to 3.67 percent, in an irreversible process.

That was the level it had been allowed to enrich uranium to under the 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal Iran reached with a number of countries, and which took several years to negotiate. Trump, however, withdrew the US from that deal during his first term as president, despite international inspectors saying Iran had stuck to this level.

The MOU reportedly contains a mechanism for Iran to receive humanitarian aid. Additionally, the US will commit to discussing sanctions relief and unfreezing Iranian assets overseas.

Iran is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, having been subject to US sanctions for decades. The lifting of some of these under the 2015 nuclear agreement was reversed when Trump walked out of the landmark deal. Billions of dollars of Iranian assets remain frozen in foreign banks as a result.

According to media reports, Israel’s war on Lebanon, where it has occupied a large part of the south of the country, will end under the agreement.

Israel states that it is attacking strongholds of the Iran-backed Hezbollah there. Hezbollah began strikes on northern Israel following the first US-Israeli attacks on Tehran on February 28.

On March 2, Israel intensified its war on Lebanon, expanding its invasion and occupation of southern towns and villages. Since then, Israel has killed more than 3,000 people, including paramedics and civilians.

Despite Trump announcing an extension to the April 8 ceasefire on April 16, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have continued.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC, on Friday to continue negotiations aimed at ending the war on Iran. Pakistan has been mediating between the parties and relaying each side’s proposals for a peace deal.

This comes days after an Iranian delegation led by top officials travelled to Qatar to hold negotiations.

However, despite these ongoing high-level talks, there has been a recent escalation of attacks from both sides.

Last week, the US military launched a series of attacks near the Strait of Hormuz. Then on Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had shot down five Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas, which is home to key Iranian naval forces. The US described these strikes as “defensive”.

Iranian strikes have also continued on US assets and energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

Most recently, Kuwait’s military said its air defences had intercepted “hostile” missiles and drones as warning sirens sounded across the country early on Thursday.

The MOU seeks a cessation of hostilities for a 60-day period during which the US and Iran will negotiate on other issues, such as the issues of enriched uranium and the lifting of sanctions.

Axios cited US officials saying the Trump administration hopes to have discussions about Iran’s support for its regional proxies – such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and a number of armed groups in Iraq and Syria. The officials did not provide additional details.