President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran on Wednesday, capping two months of negotiations to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. During an hour-long press conference, he made the case for the agreement while effectively walking back nearly every major condition he had demanded before the war began.
The shift is stark. Trump once insisted on Iran's "total surrender," complete dismantlement of its nuclear program, zero enrichment, elimination of ballistic missiles, an end to funding for regional proxies, and even a say in selecting Iran's supreme leader. The deal he signed delivers none of that.
Under the memorandum, Iran receives sanctions relief to resume oil sales. The strait reopens. The blockade lifts. Both sides get 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear agreement. If Iran agrees to limit its nuclear program and dispose of its stockpile, it could see all sanctions lifted, access frozen funds, and attract billions in foreign investment.
Trump explicitly acknowledged the deal may never reach a final nuclear agreement. "If it doesn't get done in 60 days, we go back to bombing," he said, though he later suggested the deadline could shift.
What's most revealing is how Trump himself played down the achievement. He repeatedly noted it was only a memorandum, not a full treaty. He also expressed sympathy for Iran's desire to possess missiles and nuclear energy, a position that infuriated Republican hawks.
The concessions on ballistic missiles proved especially controversial. When pressed, Trump said Iran needs them. "They have to have some because other people have some," he explained. "Missiles aren't the problem." This directly contradicts years of his own rhetoric about making Iranian missiles a non-negotiable issue.
The deal contains other vulnerability. Iran must keep the Strait of Hormuz open for only 60 days, leaving open the possibility of tolls afterward. Trump denied the U.S. would fund a proposed $300 billion Iranian reconstruction fund, but the text allows for potential investments like UAE-built power plants. Most significantly, the memorandum is silent on Iran's ballistic missiles and support for terrorist organizations and militias, despite Trump's long-standing insistence that any agreement must address both.
The reaction split along predictable lines. Sen. Lindsey Graham, after an hour-long call with White House envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday morning, endorsed the deal. Sen. Bill Cassidy called it "the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," suggesting "Reagan is rolling over in his grave."
Trump responded by attacking the hawks directly, calling them "stupid" for wanting to continue bombing and warning that their approach "would take the country down the tube." He compared their position to the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression, invoking Herbert Hoover.
He argued the military campaign had achieved its objectives, particularly degrading Iran's navy. He also claimed most U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East, with possible exception of Israel, wanted the war to end and the deal signed.
A meeting scheduled for Friday in Switzerland between Vice President Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf will be "critical" to launching nuclear negotiations, administration officials said. They claimed a "gentleman's agreement" exists on Iran's planned nuclear concessions and that the U.S. would learn "within days or weeks" whether Tehran is serious.
Skepticism runs deep within Trump's own team. CIA Director John Ratcliffe doubts Iran intends to follow through. An administration official warned that if the Iranians are "dragging us along and kind of bullshitting us, then we'll be very quick to pull the plug on it and go back to tightening the screws on them very, very aggressively."
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump walked into this deal holding most of the cards and walked out with a conditional ceasefire that reads less like victory and more like an exit strategy dressed up in diplomatic language."
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