2026-06-17T18:03:31+00:00
Shafaq News-
Tehran
Iran’s Foreign
Ministry on Wednesday detailed the contents of a memorandum of understanding
with the United States set to be signed in Switzerland on Friday, considering
it the legal and diplomatic foundation for a comprehensive negotiated
settlement.
The document,
the ministry said, spans 14 clauses across one and a half pages. Its opening
two articles establish the general negotiating framework. Subsequent clauses
outline specific commitments: American recognition of Iranian sovereignty and
territorial integrity, the lifting of a naval blockade on Iranian vessels
within 30 days, and the removal of obstacles blocking access to frozen Iranian
assets, a process Washington has already begun, according to Tehran.
Lebanon is
referenced three times in the document, a frequency the ministry characterized
as deliberate. Tehran has framed a ceasefire on all active fronts, including
southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces remain deployed following last year’s
conflict, as a precondition for entering negotiations, not an outcome of them.
The continued Israeli military presence, the ministry said, contradicts the
memorandum’s provisions affirming Lebanese sovereignty, and Iran would take
“necessary measures” if that presence persists.
The Strait of
Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass, also
features in the agreement. Iran is committed to restoring normal maritime
traffic through the strait within a defined period and dismantling certain
unspecified obstacles currently in place. Tehran and Muscat will jointly manage
the waterway and provide transit services to vessels, with broader regional
consultations to follow as needed.
The two issues
that have defined the Iran-US standoff for more than two decades, sanctions
relief and the nuclear program, do not appear in the memorandum itself. Both
were deliberately deferred to direct negotiations opening Friday, which the
ministry said both sides have committed to concluding within 60 days of the
document’s signing.
The United
States has not publicly confirmed the memorandum’s contents.
Read more: US-Iran ceasefire deal leaves Lebanon without guarantees
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