Both sides need to take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes.
Two nations shaped by decades of mutual suspicion now stand at the edge of a fragile accord — one that would reopen a waterway vital to the world's energy supply and pause a conflict that began in late February. The United States and Iran are negotiating terms that both sides describe as advancing, yet each tells a different story about what has actually been agreed, particularly on the question of nuclear ambition. In the space between those competing narratives, the world watches a strait already quietly reopening, as if the sea itself is moving faster than the diplomats.
- A draft memorandum is leaking simultaneously from American and Iranian outlets, and the two versions contradict each other on the most consequential point: whether nuclear commitments are part of the deal at all.
- Israel, the EU, and Britain are sounding alarms, insisting that any agreement without binding nuclear guarantees would leave a dangerous threshold unguarded.
- Iran's president signals flexibility on reassurance but draws a firm line around uranium enrichment rights, framing it as a matter of national honor rather than negotiating leverage.
- Pakistan is positioning itself as the next host for talks in Islamabad, while Washington maintains its maritime blockade as the one card it will not lay down until ink is dry.
- On the water, the deal is already being tested — 150 commercial vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian supervision in just five days, a quiet implementation that outpaces the diplomacy above it.
The shape of a peace agreement between Iran and the United States is becoming visible, though what each side believes it has negotiated differs in ways that could yet collapse the effort. The deal as broadly understood would temporarily lift oil sanctions on Tehran, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and formally end a conflict that began with a joint US-Israeli offensive on February 28. The nuclear question, however, remains the fault line.
President Trump described talks as moving forward "in an orderly and constructive manner" while cautioning his team not to rush. He reaffirmed that Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon and that the maritime blockade on Iranian ports, imposed in mid-April, would hold until a final agreement is signed. The White House nonetheless suggested a signing could come within days — a timeline at odds with earlier signals from Secretary of State Rubio.
The draft memorandum of understanding, as reported by both Axios and Iran's Tasnim agency, would establish a 60-day ceasefire, gradually normalize maritime traffic through Hormuz, temporarily suspend certain sanctions, permit Iranian crude oil sales, and release some frozen Iranian assets. But Axios reported that Iran would commit not to pursue nuclear weapons, while Tasnim — connected to the Revolutionary Guards — reported that nuclear matters were excluded entirely, deferred to post-signing negotiations.
That gap has alarmed Israel's Netanyahu, who said he and Trump had agreed any deal must include dismantling Iran's enrichment facilities and removing highly enriched material. The EU's von der Leyen and Britain's Starmer welcomed the diplomatic momentum but echoed the demand for nuclear guarantees. Iran's President Pezeshkian insisted Tehran does not seek atomic weapons, but made clear his negotiators would not surrender what he called Iran's "honor and dignity" — a phrase understood to mean its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Meanwhile, the strait is already moving. Iran's Revolutionary Guards reported 33 vessels transiting Hormuz in a single day under Iranian supervision, bringing the five-day total to 150 ships. The waterway once carried roughly 20 percent of the world's oil and gas. The practical reopening has begun even as the agreement meant to formalize it remains unfinished — leaving the central question of whether a nuclear impasse will undo what the sea has already quietly started.
The outlines of a peace agreement between Iran and the United States are beginning to take shape, though significant gaps remain between what each side says it has agreed to. The deal would temporarily lift oil sanctions on Tehran, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and end a conflict that began with a joint US-Israeli offensive on February 28. But the nuclear question—what Iran can and cannot do with its atomic program—remains the sharpest point of disagreement, and it is threatening to unravel negotiations that both sides claim are moving forward.
President Trump said on Sunday that talks were progressing "in an orderly and constructive manner," though he instructed his negotiating team not to rush. "Both sides need to take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes," he wrote on Truth Social, reiterating that Iran cannot develop or acquire a nuclear weapon. He also made clear that the maritime blockade Washington imposed on Iranian ports in mid-April would remain in place until a final agreement is signed. Despite this caution, the White House indicated through news reports that a deal could be signed within days—a timeline that contradicted earlier suggestions from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that it might happen immediately.
Pakistan, which has been mediating the talks, said it expects to host another round of negotiations in Islamabad soon, following a failed attempt in April. Details of the draft memorandum of understanding began leaking from both Iranian and American media outlets on Sunday, revealing the broad shape of what each side believes it has negotiated. Both Axios and the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that the agreement prioritizes an end to hostilities across all fronts and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had partially blocked since the early days of the war.
According to the reporting, the deal would include a 60-day ceasefire during which Iran would gradually normalize maritime traffic through the strait. Axios reported that Washington would temporarily suspend some sanctions and allow the sale of Iranian crude oil, as well as release some of Iran's frozen assets abroad. But here the accounts diverge sharply. Axios said the memorandum would include Iran's commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons—a red line Trump had drawn. Tasnim, which is connected to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, reported that the agreement contains no nuclear provisions at all, and that all matters related to Iran's atomic program have been postponed to negotiations after the memorandum is signed, within a 60-day window.
This disagreement has alarmed Israel, the European Union, and Britain. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed with Trump that any peace deal must include the dismantling of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities and the removal of its highly enriched nuclear material. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the diplomatic progress toward an agreement that would guarantee unrestricted freedom of navigation through the strait, but they demanded guarantees that Iran would not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran's President Masud Pezeshkian responded by insisting that Tehran does not seek to build atomic bombs. "We are prepared to reassure the world that we do not seek nuclear weapons," he said. But he also emphasized that Iran's negotiating team would not make concessions on the country's "honor and dignity," an apparent reference to Iran's right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Iran is a signatory.
Meanwhile, the practical work of reopening the strait has already begun. Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Sunday that 33 commercial vessels, including tankers and container ships, had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours under Iranian supervision and protection. That brought the total to 150 vessels that had transited the passage in five days since Wednesday. The Guards said they maintain "intelligent control" over the strategic waterway, through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil and gas flowed before the war. The question now is whether the nuclear disagreement will prevent the two sides from formalizing what they have already begun to implement on the water.
Notable Quotes
Both sides need to take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes.— President Trump
We are prepared to reassure the world that we do not seek nuclear weapons, but our negotiating team will not make concessions on the country's honor and dignity.— President Masud Pezeshkian of Iran
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the nuclear question matter so much if both sides seem to agree on everything else—the ceasefire, the sanctions relief, the shipping?
Because once you sign a deal, it becomes harder to change the terms. If Iran says nuclear issues are postponed, and the US says Iran has already committed not to pursue weapons, they're not actually agreeing on the same thing. One side will feel betrayed when the 60 days are up.
So Trump is trying to lock in a nuclear commitment now, before the ink dries?
Exactly. And Netanyahu is pushing even harder—he wants the enrichment facilities actually dismantled, not just promised. But Iran sees that as a humiliation. They're saying they have the right to enrich uranium under international law.
But Iran's president said they don't want nuclear weapons. Isn't that enough?
It would be, if everyone trusted it. But Israel and the West have heard that before. They want verification, inspections, physical proof that the facilities are gone. Iran sees that as an invasion of sovereignty.
What about the shipping? That seems to be working already.
It is. 150 ships in five days. That's the part both sides can actually do right now, without trusting each other. But it's also leverage—if the nuclear talks collapse, Iran can close the strait again tomorrow.
So the deal could fall apart over something that hasn't even been negotiated yet?
That's the trap they're in. They've agreed to stop fighting and reopen trade, but they haven't actually resolved the thing that made them fight in the first place.