🚨JUST IN: Was just on a media briefing call with a senior US officials who confirm the MOU with Iran has been signed and outlines the following from their POV:
“In general terms, the deal says if you’re willing to behave like a normal country, we’re willing to treat you like a normal country. It’s performance based.”
– Strait of Hormuz is open, but it will take a few weeks to get travel back to normal.
– A signing ceremony on Friday in Geneva including JD Vance, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and others, and a large Iranian contigent.
– The official stressed that we’re here not just because of the last 1.5 years of the Trump administration, but because of the first 4 as well. The sanctions pressures built up and they believe created leverage.
– The reason negotiations have been “very fruitful” was because of the “degredation of [Iran’s] economy” and the “scattering of their government which created a lot of internal pressure.”
– There a significant new communication channels. The official describes the initial Islamabad meeting as very fruitful, despite not resulting in a deal. It laid the groundwork.
– Operation Project Freedom has been an “unsung hero” in this, resulting in over 7 million barrels of oil a day. That increased US leverage.
– The nuclear talks are described as “technical” in terms of how to retrieve the enriched uranium.
– Stressed this is not “pay for play.” They will not get access to markets or release of their funds just for showing up for a meeting.
– There are “fascinating” internal political dynamics playing out in Iran. There are constituencies that want different things. Iran, by all accounts, should be incredibly wealthy.
– “We go in very clear-eyed” that Iran has been a bad faith actor in negotiations for 47 years: “Everything will be verified… all released assets and sanction relief is tied to milestones.”
– The US will keep the current military force posture for now to make sure Iran “does what they say they’re going to do.” The deal contemplates a partial draw down upon the signing of the nuclear deal.”
– “One of the aspects of the negotiation that was actually easier than others was the nuclear, because they need our technical expertise to get the dust out.”
– Iran would probably love to have a nuclear weapon, but they know US intelligence is so precise that they can’t do it in secret and the threat of force is now realized.
– The Gulf States generally love this deal. They saw the JCPOA as empowering Iran to be a bad actor. They see this as a regional deal that pressures Iran to behave and bring stability to the entire region.
– “The full deal will be published soon, but we’re still in the building trust phase.”4:01 PM · Jun 15, 2026235.9KViews
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