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Nearly three months after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering a war that has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, rattled global energy markets, and killed thousands, both sides are now closer than ever to a framework agreement that could — if it holds — bring the US-Iran conflict
Nearly three months after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering a war that has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, rattled global energy markets, and killed thousands, both sides are now closer than ever to a framework agreement that could — if it holds — bring the US-Iran conflict to a formal end.
On Friday, President Donald Trump declared the deal “largely negotiated” and said an announcement was coming “shortly.” Bloomberg confirmed that Trump personally called leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the Oval Office — all in a single afternoon — to align final terms before a potential announcement this weekend.
So what exactly is on the table? Here is a breakdown of the key elements inside the proposed deal.
The proposed agreement begins not with a full peace treaty but with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) — a one-page framework document that would formally declare an end to active hostilities and set the terms for a structured 30-to-60-day negotiating period to work out the harder details.
Axios, which obtained exclusive details of the draft, reported that the MOU is deliberately limited in scope — a “letter of intent” designed to lock in a ceasefire extension and establish a negotiating roadmap, not resolve every outstanding dispute immediately. Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed it views the MOU as the first phase of a broader process.
CBS News reported that Iran-US negotiators have reached agreement on broad principles, though critical specifics remain contested.
The single most visible and economically consequential element of the proposed deal involves the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which 25% of the world’s seaborne oil and 20% of global LNG passed before Iran sealed it in early March.
Under the draft agreement, Iran would commit to:
In exchange, the United States would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and issue sanctions waivers permitting Iran to begin selling oil on global markets again — though full sanctions relief would only be delivered as part of a final, verifiably implemented agreement.
Al Jazeera noted that Iran’s state news agency Fars pushed back, claiming the Strait would remain “under Iran’s management” — signaling that the tolls question may not be as fully resolved as Washington suggests.
The nuclear question is where the Iran and US conflict reaches its most complex and consequential terrain — and where the widest gaps remain.
The Trump administration has entered negotiations demanding that Iran never possess a nuclear weapon and commit to surrendering its entire stockpile of enriched uranium, which Trump frequently refers to as “nuclear dust.” The full stockpile under discussion amounts to roughly 2,000 kilograms of enriched uranium, including approximately 440 kilograms enriched to 60% — near weapons-grade levels.
CNN’s deep breakdown of the proposed deal confirmed that the draft MOU includes Iranian commitments to:
The critical sticking point is duration. The US has demanded a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment. Iran initially countered with 5 years. Three negotiating sources told Axios the likely landing zone is 12 to 15 years — but that gap has not yet closed.
The formula driving the nuclear bargain, as described by a senior administration official, is stark: “No dust, no dollars. If no highly enriched uranium is given up, they will get no relief. The more they do, the more they get.”
However, Reuters quoted a senior Iranian source saying Tehran has not agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium and considers the nuclear issue separate from the preliminary war-ending framework. The House of Commons Library briefing on US-Iran ceasefire negotiations confirmed this divergence remains the most serious unresolved element of any potential agreement.
Alongside the nuclear file, Iran is pushing hard for comprehensive sanctions relief and the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets held abroad — a demand Washington has linked directly to verified nuclear concessions.
US News & World Report confirmed that under the Axios-reported framework, sanctions waivers for oil sales would begin during the 60-day window, but full sanctions removal and asset unfreezing would only occur after a comprehensive final agreement is in place and verifiably implemented — a sequencing Iran has contested, preferring earlier relief as a confidence-building step.
One under-reported but significant element of the proposed MOU is its contingency provision: if the 60-day negotiating period collapses without a final deal, the United States explicitly reserves the right to restore the naval blockade on Iranian ports or resume full military operations. The clause is designed to maintain American leverage throughout the negotiating window and prevent Iran from pocketing the ceasefire benefits without delivering on its commitments.
PBS NewsHour reported that Trump indicated an announcement could come within days, and CBC News confirmed that details have begun to emerge as both sides move toward a signing moment. But Axios also cautioned that Trump officials privately acknowledged the deal could still take days — and could still fall apart entirely.
The proposed agreement that might end the iran and us conflict is, at its core, a bet that both sides have suffered enough to compromise — but not yet enough to capitulate. Whether the Strait reopens, the uranium moves, and the sanctions lift will determine whether this framework becomes history or just another failed deadline in a war that was never supposed to last this long.
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