Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrive for talks with Trump officials in Switzerland, June 21, 2026
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June’s Memorandum of Understanding, seeking to end the US War on Iran, expires today.
Following a ceasefire declared on April 7, the Memorandum set out a further two-month pause. Based on 14 points set out by Iran, it recognized Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz in conjunction with others, such as the Gulf State of Oman.
In return for opening the Strait, which carries around 20% of the world’s maritime oil and gas, Iran would receive significant financial and economic benefits. US sanctions would be lifted. Some of the $100 billion of Iranian assets held abroad would be unfrozen. A private investment and reconstruction fund of up to $300 billion would be established.
The issue of Iran’s nuclear program would be secondary to that of the Strait. Rather than accepting the Trump camp’s demand that all uranium enrichment for a civilian program would be halted, the possibility of continued enrichment within Iran — albeit to a much lower grade than the current 60% — would be negotiated.
Trump digitally signed the document without consulting senior advisors. He confirmed it formally three days later while he was at a dinner in the Palace of Versailles after the G7 summit.
The Trump camp faced immediate criticism from those in Washington who said the concessions were too great to Iran. Talks through Pakistani and Qatari mediators stalled, and a series of violent episodes escalated in the Strait, inside Iran, and across the Gulf. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi Arabian ports, threatening to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
