The United States and Iran have signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) that could mark a major step towards ending military tensions and restarting economic cooperation between the two countries. Signed virtually by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the framework agreement lays out plans for sanctions relief, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, releasing frozen Iranian assets and launching negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme.
However, the agreement is not yet final. Both sides have 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive deal, and officials acknowledge that significant hurdles remain. According to Reuters, a US official said upcoming talks would focus on the sequence of commitments outlined in the preliminary accord.
"I think the meeting in Switzerland will be quite critical in order to really see how we get to the next phase," the official said.
"It has to be a situation where both parties... agree on the full magnitude of what both parties are going to do, and then come up with a sequencing agreement on who's going to do what when, and that's really where the crux of the negotiations will go."
