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- Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the USA
Published is the text of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the USA, which will be signed on Friday in Geneva.
Here is its full text:
“Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran
1) The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as their allies in the current war, sign this Memorandum of Understanding to declare an immediate and final cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, and commit to not initiate war or any military operations against each other, refrain from threatening or using force against each other, and ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final agreement will confirm the permanent cessation of war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and will also solidify other provisions of this clause.
2) The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.
3) The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and concluding a final agreement within a period not exceeding 60 days; this term may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties.
4) Immediately after signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the United States of America will begin lifting the naval blockade and removing any obstacles or impediments caused to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will completely end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the intensity of ship traffic will be proportional to the shipping volumes that existed before the conflict and being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Furthermore, the United States of America commits to withdrawing its armed forces from areas adjacent to the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the conclusion of the final agreement.”
5) After the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make every effort to ensure safe and free passage of commercial vessels for 60 days from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and back. The movement of commercial vessels will commence immediately; taking into account the need to eliminate technical and military obstacles, as well as conduct demining operations by the Islamic Republic of Iran, full navigation will be ensured within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will engage in dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman on future management and provision of maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, consulting with other coastal states of the Persian Gulf, in accordance with international law and the sovereign rights of the states located on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz.
6) The United States of America commits to jointly develop a final, agreed plan for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regional partners, with funding of no less than $300 billion. The mechanism for implementing this plan will be finally approved within the framework of the final agreement within 60 days. The United States of America will issue all necessary licenses and provide the required exemptions and permissions to carry out the corresponding financial transactions.
7) The United States of America commits to lift all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including sanctions imposed based on UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, as well as all unilateral US sanctions (both primary and secondary), in accordance with the agreed schedule within the framework of the final agreement. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America recognize the critical importance of the aforementioned issue of lifting sanctions and express their intention to promptly address these issues in negotiations to reach mutual agreement on them.
8) The Islamic Republic of Iran confirms that it will not acquire or develop nuclear weapons. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to settle the issue of managing enriched material stockpiles in accordance with a mechanism that will be agreed upon by the parties according to the schedule mentioned in paragraph 7; at a minimum, this will involve reducing the enrichment level (dilution) of materials on-site under IAEA supervision. The parties also agreed to discuss enrichment and other agreed topics related to the nuclear needs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on acceptable principles to be enshrined in the final agreement. The final agreement will affirm the provisions of this paragraph, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will acknowledge the exceptional importance of the aforementioned nuclear issues. The parties express their intention to immediately address these issues during negotiations to reach mutual consent on them.
9) Until the final agreement is reached, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree to maintain the status quo. The Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status of its nuclear program, and the United States of America will not impose new sanctions or deploy additional forces in the region.
10) The United States of America commits to: immediately after signing this Memorandum of Understanding and until the sanctions are lifted, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will issue permits (exceptions) for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and derivatives, as well as for the provision of all related services, including banking operations, insurance, transportation, etc.
11) The United States of America commits to ensuring full availability for use of frozen or restricted Iranian funds and assets after the provisions of this Memorandum are fulfilled. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will agree on procedures concerning the unblocking of these funds during negotiations. Such funds, whether on the original account or subject to transfer, must be fully available for payments to any final beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America commits to issuing all necessary licenses and permits for this purpose.
12) The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to create an executive mechanism to monitor the successful implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding and further compliance with the final agreement.
13) After signing this Memorandum of Understanding and provided the implementation of points 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this Memorandum, and the continuation of these measures, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will begin negotiations on the final agreement exclusively on the remaining points.
14) The final agreement will be ratified by a mandatory UN Security Council resolution.
Very brief comments on the main points:
1) The USA, so to speak, has “ditched” Israel, depriving it of the opportunity to act against Hezbollah in Lebanon and effectively requiring Israel to leave a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
2) The USA refrains from even hypothetical criticism of the regime in Iran, not to mention any hypothetical support for regime change.
3) Negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, calculated for 60 days, can, according to this point, continue indefinitely. This is exactly what Iran needs.
4) The USA admits that it cannot maintain its armed forces in the Persian Gulf region.
5) Iran is allowed to negotiate with Oman on charging ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz and to implement such a charge within 60 days.
6) The USA acknowledges that it effectively has to pay reparations to Iran of at least $300 billion.
7) It is established that for any concessions Iran makes regarding its nuclear program, it can and will demand the lifting of all sanctions.
8) The wording of this point “The Islamic Republic of Iran confirms that it will not acquire or develop nuclear weapons” seems weaker than the wording of Article iii of the JCPOA agreement concluded in 2015 and terminated by Trump in 2018: “iii. Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will it pursue possession, development, or acquisition of nuclear weapons.”
Moreover, the JCPOA agreement provided for constant monitoring by the IAEA of its implementation, with IAEA inspectors having weekly access to Iran’s nuclear facilities. The current memorandum does not provide for anything similar.
9) Iran is given the opportunity to continue its nuclear program without hindrance for the duration of the negotiations, which according to point 3 of the memorandum can continue indefinitely.
10) This point effectively means the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil. This can occur through the issuance of monthly general licenses valid for a month, but a return of sanctions in the form of non-issuance of such a license at some point will obviously mean Iran’s withdrawal from further negotiations.
11) This point should be considered together with point 7 on the lifting of sanctions. Iran will insist that for any agreement regarding its nuclear program, the U.S. must unfreeze all frozen Iranian assets and transfer them to Iran without any conditions.
12) The point is vague. The mechanism of control remains completely unclear. Each side can thus interpret it in its own way.
13) Continuation of point 3). Negotiations can go on indefinitely.
14) There should be no objection to the UN Security Council approving the final agreement with its resolution if and when it is reached. However, since negotiations to achieve it may last indefinitely, this point is not relevant.
The memorandum does not address the issue of Iranian ballistic missiles. Moreover, by staging a media show next to the airplane steps before departing Evian for Paris on Wednesday afternoon, Trump stated that Iran could develop ballistic missiles. If other countries can, it would be unfair to deprive Iran of such a right. That is, Iran can continue to increase the production of ballistic missiles and supply them to Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis, or even Russia (if such a vital ally requires “brotherly assistance”).
Trump also thanked Putin and Xi for allegedly not interfering in the U.S. war with Iran. In reality, this was reported by all American newspapers citing intelligence, and Democratic members of Congress spoke about it citing the same sources. Russia and China were providing Iran with real-time intelligence data from their satellites during the hostilities.
Trump presented the memorandum as his great victory.
In fact, the text of the memorandum clearly shows that it is a significant strategic defeat for the U.S. and a significant strategic victory for Iran.
There are 951 days left until the end of the story titled “Fear: Trump in the White House” © (the title of the book by Bob Woodward, published in 2018).
Thank you to everyone who read this. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Take care of each other, help each other. Good health to all.
Ultimately, what happens in the world depends on us. Whether we fight evil, do Good, remain merely observers, passively wait and believe that someone somewhere will decide something for us, or fight evil and do everything possible for Good to prevail.
We must not allow evil to triumph. The victory of evil would mean the end of the world we live in. We cannot allow this. Especially now.
Ukrainian Friends, I embrace and love you all. Please take care of each other.
Ukraine is and always will be.
And evil will be defeated and punished. And this is inevitable.
