JUNE 16, 2026
US and Iran sign memorandum of understanding to begin 60-day negotiations, with disputes over terms and congressional oversight emerging immediately
The United States and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding that extends a ceasefire, establishes a 60-day negotiating window, and calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with a formal signing ceremony scheduled for Friday at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland. President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signed the document digitally. The agreement's full text has not been publicly released, and both sides have offered differing accounts of its terms.
The memorandum of understanding, described by Vance as approximately "a page and a half" in length, addresses the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iran, and issues involving Iran's frozen assets and a potential reconstruction fund, according to CNN. The deal leaves detailed technical negotiations — including Iran's nuclear program — to follow-on talks over 60 days. Oil markets responded immediately: Brent crude fell as much as 4.3% to $79.61 a barrel on Tuesday, its first time below $80 since the war began, with Citigroup projecting Strait flows could resume to normal by mid-to-late July, CNN reported.
Key disputes over the deal's terms surfaced within hours of the announcement. US officials said no frozen Iranian assets had been released and insisted sanctions relief would be conditioned on Iranian performance, with one official quoted by Fox News saying "$0 of unfrozen assets have been released." Iranian officials and state-linked media described the framework as paving the way for roughly $24 billion in frozen funds and broader economic relief during the negotiation period, Fox News reported. A $300 billion reconstruction fund was described by Vance as potentially available to Iran if funded by Gulf nations — but Trump on Tuesday said the US is "not investing any money in Iran" and called reports of the fund a "rumor," even as his own senior officials had described it the day before, according to AP and CNN.
Iran's demand that Israel withdraw from Lebanon represented a further complication. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that "without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the termination of the war will not be complete," according to AP and CNN. A US official said the agreement did not include an Israeli withdrawal requirement, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would remain in Lebanon "as long as necessary." Trump, meanwhile, said publicly he was "not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah," and suggested Syria could manage Hezbollah more effectively than Israel, according to AP and the Washington Examiner.