The U.S. and Iran late Sunday agreed to a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war that began in April, but neither side has released the full text and their public descriptions of the terms contradict each other on key points.
Vice President JD Vance used Monday morning television interviews to present the deal as a clear American victory. In an interview with CNBC, Vance said the agreement would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz — which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard closed to international shipping at the start of the conflict — and included a long-term commitment from Tehran not to develop a nuclear weapon.
“Those are two very big wins for the American people,” Vance told CNBC.
Asked about reports that the deal required an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Vance said Iranian state media were misrepresenting the agreement for domestic consumption. He told CNBC that some in Israel “like the deal quite a bit.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Senior U.S. officials said Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon was not a condition of the deal and that Israel could respond to attacks by Hezbollah. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said Israel would not withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory.
Iran’s state-controlled media published a competing account, asserting that President Trump agreed that Israel would leave southern Lebanon and end its war against Hezbollah as part of the arrangement. Iranian outlets reported that Tehran secured that concession by holding up the deal and threatening to strike Israel in retaliation for attacks on Beirut on Sunday.
Iran also insisted it would retain control of the Strait of Hormuz, which it shut at the outbreak of hostilities, giving it a powerful lever it did not possess before the war. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Monday the country intended to charge for navigation services, environmental protection, and ship insurance. Vance countered in his CNBC interview that the “expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term.”
The U.S. has cautioned that details published in Iranian state media are inaccurate and designed for domestic consumption.
At stake for Iran is the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets blocked abroad. Iran’s state media said the deal could unlock at least $12 billion of frozen funds upfront, part of an estimated $100 billion of Iranian assets held overseas. The country is facing soaring inflation and the collapse of its export-driven economy. However, President Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that “Iran would not be provided cash in the deal.” Instead, Middle East officials involved in the talks said Tehran would be given gradual access to the funds in exchange for certain goods, in an arrangement akin to Iraq’s oil-for-food program.
Vance told ABC on Monday that “Iran doesn’t get a dime of money unless they perform their obligations” and that the money involved was “fundamentally sanctions relief.” Significant sanctions relief, he said, would follow only after Iranian commitments to give up its nuclear weapons program and stop funding militant groups across the Middle East.
The U.S. and Iran agree that the preliminary deal includes a long-term pledge by Tehran not to develop a nuclear weapon. The U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear program last year, and Vance said that program has been destroyed. “We don’t have to give the Iranians anything if they don’t make commitments that we want long term on the nuclear program,” he said.
The next phase of talks — set to last 60 days — will address the scope of nuclear restrictions and the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran’s Baghaei said Monday that Iran would be able to sell its oil without obstacles upon signature of the memorandum and that the U.S. would be obliged to lift all sanctions, though the mechanism remains to be discussed. Trump told the Journal on Sunday that any sanctions relief would be tied to Iran’s compliance with the terms of the agreement.
It is not clear whether or when the deal will be formally signed. Vance said it had already been “signed off electronically.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the country would sign on Friday, likely in Switzerland, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.
Senior U.S. officials said the full text of the memorandum of understanding would be published within the next 24 to 48 hours.