Three key things that stand out from the US-Iran dealpublished at 22:08 BST
Gary O’Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent
Image source, ReutersVessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Tuesday – the waterway has been a key sticking point between the US and Iran
We’ve had the most extraordinary briefing call with some senior US
officials here in Washington, and they read out – verbatim – what they say is
the text of the memorandum of understanding with Iran.
There are three key things that stood out from it for me:
On the nuclear question, the senior officials say Iran has
promised not to develop or procure a nuclear weapon. Donald Trump has made that
his number one condition for a deal ever since the start of the war in
February. They also said that Iran’s enriched uranium will be
“down-blended” – meaning diluted – on site, under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Originally, the US had demanded that it was
removed from the country, so that’s new.
On the question of the reopening of the Strait of
Hormuz, the senior officials said that there would be no charges for ships
going through for 60 days. After that, it’s up to Iran and its neighbours to
negotiate what happens. That leaves open the possibility of charges in the
future, where there were no charges before the conflict.
Then there’s the controversial $300bn reconstruction fund.
President Trump had described that as “fake news”, but it is in the
document. The senior officials insisted America doesn’t need to pay “a
cent” towards that –and it will depend on Iran “behaving”, as they
put it.
This agreement will be scrutinised line by line over the coming
days. And the big question will be, what exactly did the US get out of its war
with Iran?
Three key takeaways from US-Iran deal
