Iran denied on Sunday morning that it had agreed to give up any enriched uranium as part of a proposed US ceasefire deal, pushing back on a report that said Tehran had signaled it would part with part of its stockpile. A source told that Iran had not yet accepted any action on the nuclear issue and that the question was not part of the preliminary agreement.
The denial cut across a draft memorandum of understanding that, if approved, would launch a 60-day ceasefire extension and open the door to more talks over the two-month period. That same draft, according to details circulating around the talks, also leaves the core nuclear file unresolved, including Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and broader concerns over nuclear capabilities.
reported before Sunday morning that Iran had expressed a willingness to give up a certain amount of its stockpile, a claim Tehran rejected. Under the draft MOU, final negotiations on a peace deal would come only after both sides sign the memorandum and agree to the 60-day ceasefire. If Iran’s supreme national council approves it, the document would then be sent to Mojtaba Khamenei for final approval.
The text under discussion reaches well beyond the nuclear issue. It would keep the Strait of Hormuz open without tolls, require Iran to clear mines it had deployed there, and in return would see the United States lift its blockade on Iranian ports and waive some sanctions it had imposed. The arrangement would also allow Iran to sell oil freely, while Tehran would be expected to stop pursuing nuclear weapons.
That trade-off has already exposed a sharp split inside Iran. Hossein Shariatmadari, writing in Iranian media, argued that Tehran should charge transit fees on vessels crossing the strait. He said, “The Strait of Hormuz is part of Iran’s territorial waters, and we retain the legal right to collect transit fees from ships and vessels passing through our territorial waters.” He added, “The United States also collects fees at maritime chokepoints,” and said, “It is as if our sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, which is the country’s definite and legal right, does not exist.”
The proposed memorandum also reaches into the war in Lebanon between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group, saying that fighting there would end. A US official told Axios that the ceasefire would not be one-sided and said, “if Hezbollah behaves, Israel will behave.” The same official said, “Bibi has his domestic considerations, but Trump has the interests of the US and the global economy to think about.”
Even with those pieces in place, the nuclear track remains the part most vulnerable to collapse. A US official told Axios the agreement might not last the full 60 days if Washington believes Tehran is not serious about the nuclear negotiations, underscoring how much of the framework still depends on trust that neither side has yet shown. Iranian media separately said the deal would include Washington waiving sanctions on Iranian oil and that both sides would agree not to attack each other or any allies.
The result is a deal that looks broad on paper and fragile in practice. The Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and the Lebanon war may be folded into one memorandum, but the hardest question — what Iran does with its enriched uranium and what the United States accepts in return — is still the part being fought over.
