President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran covering the country's nuclear program, setting up a two-month push toward a longer-term agreement. The text of the deal was read out to reporters by senior U.S. officials on Wednesday.
According to CBS News, the memorandum is a 14-point framework, not a final agreement. It extends a ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran conflict and sets the stage for talks on a permanent nuclear deal. It does not include specifics on what will happen to Iran's enriched uranium or its nuclear program. Those details are to be sorted out over the next 60 days.
The Trump administration has compared its memorandum favorably to the Obama administration's 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the JCPOA. Trump pulled out of the JCPOA eight years ago, calling it "disastrous" and "one-sided." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new agreement would be different from the JCPOA because the U.S. would "make sure the military option is there."
Both deals ban Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but the JCPOA was far more specific. The JCPOA stated: "Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons." The new memorandum says Iran "reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons," with enforcement details left to the final deal.
The JCPOA required Iran to dramatically reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium and capped enrichment levels at 3.67% for 15 years, well below the 90% threshold needed for weapons production. It also confined enrichment to a single facility in Natanz and restricted the number and types of centrifuges Iran could operate. The new memorandum leaves all of those mechanics to be decided in technical negotiations over the coming 60 days. Iran's current levels of highly enriched material are far higher than they were when the JCPOA was signed.
At a news conference Wednesday, Trump said he wanted language in the deal ensuring Iran could never procure a nuclear weapon, not just develop one. He said the JCPOA had not gone far enough on that point. The JCPOA did include a non-procurement commitment, but Trump said the new deal would enforce it more firmly.
Axios reported that the U.S. and Iran were in discussions about moving up the formal signing of the deal, with sources indicating it could happen sooner than originally scheduled.
