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A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the US-Iran conflict has been digitally signed near the French capital, Paris, weeks after US President Donald Trump repeatedly said that a deal was close.
The 14-point frame Iran signed on Wednesday sees Iran commit to halting the purchase or production of nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief, a $300bn reconstruction plan and the resumption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
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In a speech delivered on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on Wednesday, Trump praised the agreement with Iran as better than the agreement signed by former US President Barack Obama in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Trump withdrew during his first term in 2018.
However, experts warn that soon to know if the MOU, which causes a 60-day consultation periodit will result in a comprehensive agreement that differs greatly from the 18-page Obama-era document, which took years of negotiation and included input from nuclear experts.
Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, a fellow at Chatham House, in the UK, told Al Jazeera that “it would not be good” to compare the two at this time, because the MOU is aimed at extending the ceasefire rather than dealing with Iran’s nuclear program in detail.
Shahram Akbarzadeh, director of the Middle East Studies Forum at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, said the MOU “does not cover any issues.” “It simply leaves all questions related to Iran’s nuclear program and its benefits to be negotiated between the United States and Iran,” he said.
Here’s how the little we know about the deal compares to what the JCPOA provided.
Limiting Iran’s nuclear and weapons programs
The deal pushes talks on Iran’s nuclear program into a 60-day negotiation period, but says Tehran “will not buy or develop nuclear weapons”. Both sides are also committed to “eliminating the stockpile of heavy stockpiles in a mutually agreed upon manner”.
The JCPOA also included a similar commitment to a nuclear disarmament from Iran. It allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67 percent for 15 years — enough to build a nuclear power program, but below the 90 percent needed to build nuclear weapons. The memorandum does not say whether Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium at all or for how long.
Until Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA, independent inspectors confirmed that Iran had complied with the limits.
Akbarzadeh also said that Iran’s promise not to develop nuclear weapons contained in the MOU “is not a new principle, or a new commitment”. “Iran has repeatedly said it is not pursuing an atomic bomb,” the expert said.
In addition, although the JCPOA was an international agreement including China, Russia, the UK and Germany “with many measures to reduce the amount of uranium and monitoring to ensure Iran’s compliance”, the memorandum is an agreement between the parties that do not trust each other, said Akbarzadeh. Although the JCPOA contained specific sanctions for non-compliance, no such provisions are contained in the memorandum.
The JCPOA did not put limits on Iran’s conventional military capabilities, including its ballistic missiles – which the USward still remains, but which was also not addressed by the MOU.
Frederic Schneider, non-resident director of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said that, on its own, Iran’s commitment to refraining from developing nuclear weapons was not a major benefit to the US.
“Trump’s agreement to achieve this is just protecting the status quo,” Schneider told Al Jazeera, adding that the intelligence agencies, including the CIA, had already completed it before that. US-Iran 12-day war in June 2025 that Tehran was not rapidly developing nuclear weapons.
“It is unlikely that any Trump deal will achieve any changes to the JCPOA in this regard,” he concluded.
Sanctions and financial aid
The memorandum says the US is committed to “ending all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran” and creating with regional organizations “a concrete, coordinated plan of at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development” of the country.
Although the JCPOA agreement made the sanctions consistent with Iran’s actions and curbs on its nuclear program, the text of the memorandum states that the withdrawals will take place on “a schedule agreed upon as part of the final agreement”.
Ali Alavi, a lecturer in the Middle East and Iranian studies at SOAS University of London, in the UK, said that the removal of sanctions is very important for Tehran, which was made quickly because of the great economic damage caused by the weeks of war.
Although the JCPOA did not include funds for economic development, which were not present in the previous negotiations, a fund of $300bn pledged to rebuild Iran through regional sectors is a payment date that can lift Tehran from isolation.
Alavi said that although Iran will benefit economically – an outcome that Trump has opposed in the JCPOA – “the whole region will be better off”. By improving economic relations between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), the reconstruction fund can help resolve conflicts in the region.
The memorandum also mentions Washington’s commitment to the fifth economy to be “adequate” for Iran.
Trump has criticized the JCPOA for allowing Iran access to restricted funds and said this was the main reason for the withdrawal. In a clear statement on Wednesday, however, he said the money was “Iranian money”. “In time, I think we will get back,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Schneider, at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said the commitment is more symbolic than practical. “The US also does not have a lot of direct Iranian assets,” the analyst said. “Most of this money is a business problem, and the biggest money is in China and Iraq.”
Therefore, “any promises to ‘remove’ assets are not in the hands of the Trump administration”, he added.
Hormuz River
Although this was not part of the JCPOA, it has become an important part of Iran’s negotiations this time.
Iran closed a key sea route early in the conflict that began on February 28, blocking nearly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies and sending shockwaves through global energy markets. Oil prices skyrocketed, and many countries faced severe power shortages.
The US resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports a few weeks later. Trump was ecstatic when he announced the first deal with Iran on Sunday, saying, “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
The memorandum says the US will begin lifting its blockade “immediately” after signing the 14-point document and “end the naval blockade within 30 days”.
It added that Iran “will hold talks with the Sultanate of Oman to clarify the future of the administration of the Strait of Hormuz”. This statement leaves the door open for the two countries discussing future plans for the waterwaywhich was free before the war.
Under international law, charges cannot be made for natural disasters such as Hormuz. However, Iran has insisted that it is legal for neighboring countries to charge fees for “services” provided in transit, such as insurance or docking, which are permitted under maritime law.
Alavi, at SOAS, said Iran had succeeded in establishing a “new order” in the Middle East by controlling the waterway. “Iran has more power now than it did during the JCPOA (negotiations),” he said.
“Trump could not bear the (economic) problems” created by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and “gave more than what the JCPOA gave to Iran”, he added.
Iran’s proxies are the Lebanon war
Neither the MOU nor the JCPOA specifically address Iran-backed militias in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
But the memorandum declares “the immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities on all sides, including in Lebanon”. It’s not about Israel, which launched a war against Iran alongside the US in February, or Hezbollah, however.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he promised to continue Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon despite the announcement of US-Iranian cooperation in the violence.
“The Trump deal, as it is currently being drafted, does not require the approval of the international agreement with Iran and, on the contrary, includes the approval of the US side to be with Israel in the ongoing war in Lebanon,” said Schneider.
“The JCPOA agreement was very limited and technical in order to avoid getting involved in other problems, and, therefore, it did not include allies with Iran, which was a topic given to the UN Security Council.”
According to Bassiri Tabrizi at Chatham House, what would make Trump’s deal better than the JCPOA is if it “doesn’t push Iran to the idea of continuing…
What is needed now, he said, “is a deal that attracts Iran more economically and … The next 60 days will determine whether it is possible.
