Trump signs Iran memorandum that differs from 2015 JCPOA

President Trump signed a memorandum with Iran that establishes an immediate halt to military operations, reopens the Strait of Hormuz and sets a 60-day ceasefire. The instrument was initialed remotely and a formal signing is planned in Geneva.

The agreement was negotiated quickly with intermediaries from Qatar and Pakistan relaying terms between Washington and Tehran. The memorandum lists signatories including President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.

Under the framework, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz will resume and combat operations between U.S. and Iranian forces are to stop at once. The text defers detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program to follow-up talks during the 60-day window.

The memorandum leaves unresolved how much enriched uranium Iran may keep and at which enrichment levels. U.S. officials describe any sanctions relief as phased and reversible and say transfers of frozen assets will require verifiable Iranian compliance. Vice President JD Vance posted that no funds would be released merely for signing the memorandum.

The new framework departs from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in scope and sequencing. The JCPOA, negotiated with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union, capped Iran’s enrichment at 3.67 percent, limited operating centrifuges to 5,060 and set a roughly 300-kilogram stockpile limit, with verification and a mechanism to reinstate U.N. sanctions if Iran violated the terms.

After the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, Iran expanded its enrichment. By May 2025 the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Iran had more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. The memorandum does not resolve the status of that material; negotiators will address it in the next phase of talks.

The memorandum also suspends certain sanctions on Iranian oil and petrochemical exports pending further verification. Iranian officials have reported frozen funds tied to the agreement; U.S. officials dispute the figure and reiterate that any financial transfers depend on verifiable actions by Tehran.

Pakistan’s prime minister posted that both sides declared an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts. President Trump wrote that his approach aims to differ from the 2015 deal, criticizing the earlier pact’s financial provisions. The next 60 days will determine whether negotiators can convert the ceasefire into a longer-term arrangement that addresses enrichment limits, the size of Iran’s stockpile and related security issues.