Iran-US MoU: sanctions, nuclear file, and Lebanon

Shafaq News- Tehran

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday detailed the contents of a memorandum of understanding with the United States set to be signed in Switzerland on Friday, considering it the legal and diplomatic foundation for a comprehensive negotiated settlement.

The document, the ministry said, spans 14 clauses across one and a half pages. Its opening two articles establish the general negotiating framework. Subsequent clauses outline specific commitments: American recognition of Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity, the lifting of a naval blockade on Iranian vessels within 30 days, and the removal of obstacles blocking access to frozen Iranian assets, a process Washington has already begun, according to Tehran.

Lebanon is referenced three times in the document, a frequency the ministry characterized as deliberate. Tehran has framed a ceasefire on all active fronts, including southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces remain deployed following last year's conflict, as a precondition for entering negotiations, not an outcome of them. The continued Israeli military presence, the ministry said, contradicts the memorandum's provisions affirming Lebanese sovereignty, and Iran would take "necessary measures" if that presence persists.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass, also features in the agreement. Iran is committed to restoring normal maritime traffic through the strait within a defined period and dismantling certain unspecified obstacles currently in place. Tehran and Muscat will jointly manage the waterway and provide transit services to vessels, with broader regional consultations to follow as needed.

The two issues that have defined the Iran-US standoff for more than two decades, sanctions relief and the nuclear program, do not appear in the memorandum itself. Both were deliberately deferred to direct negotiations opening Friday, which the ministry said both sides have committed to concluding within 60 days of the document's signing.

The United States has not publicly confirmed the memorandum's contents.

Read more: US-Iran ceasefire deal leaves Lebanon without guarantees