The US-Iran deal is signed, sealed, but far from delivered. 

Iran now has 60 days to prove it is willing to make peace and change its ways after signing a ceasefire deal with the US — and both sides have to hammer out the biggest problems at stake.

The aspirational 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding sets in motion two months of tough negotiations between Washington and Tehran on stopping Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon and shedding its stockpile of enriched uranium. 

In return, the US could lift its crippling sanctions on the regime and give Iranians a shot at $300 billion to rebuild. 

Also at stake is whether the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened and toll-free for passage. 

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President Trump touted the benefits of the deal – which he signed Wednesday while at the Palace of Versailles in France – and warned the US could easily go back to war if Iran doesn’t shape up.

“We’re gonna bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. 

An immediate win for Iran would be the lifting of the US naval blockade on its ports and resumption of its oil business. 

For Americans, once Iran ends the threat of attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, gas prices are expected to drop.

But ending Iran’s nuclear program once and for all would be Trump’s lasting legacy if successful.

Getting Iran to commit to de-proliferation and end terrorism stands as “one of the hardest, lowest probability things you can do,” a senior US official admitted to The Post on Wednesday.

“The best way to really do it is to get a real comprehensive deal that is conditions-based, has teeth, and to drive [Iran] to a different paradigm,” the official said of the work to come.  

“These things are hard, historically they don’t happen often, but our job is to pursue kind of the perfect and see how close we can get to that.” 

The MOU states that in return for the removal of all sanctions, Iran will commit not to develop a nuclear weapon and agree to discussions on how to dilute its nearly 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium. 

The agreement suggests that Iran would work on a deal that would see it degrade its atomic stockpile under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was kicked out of the country at the start of the war. 

The Iran deal text reads as follows:

1. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.
2. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to 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 achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent.
4. Immediately upon the signing of this MOU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade and any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will fully end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America further undertakes to remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal.
5. Upon the signing of this MOU, Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa. The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start, and considering the need for removing the technical and military obstacles and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be instated within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialog with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz in discussion with other Persian Gulf or littoral states in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.
6. United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least USD $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of a final deal within 60 days. All required licenses, waivers, and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States of America.
7. The United States of America undertakes to terminate all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the United Nations Security Council resolutions, i.e. a Board of Governors resolutions, and all unilateral US sanctions, primary and secondary, in an agreed-upon schedule as part of the final deal. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America acknowledge the critical importance of the sanctions termination issue above mentioned, and expressed their intentions to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.
8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpile enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in paragraph seven, with the minimum methodology to be down blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA. The two parties also agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final deal. The final deal will confirm the provisions of this paragraph. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran acknowledge the critical importance of the nuclear issues above mentioned and express their intention to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them. 
9. Pending the final deal, the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran agree to maintain the status quo. The Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program and the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.
10. The United States of America undertakes that immediately upon the signing of MOU until the termination of sanctions, US Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc.
11. The United States of America undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Upon the implementation of this MOU, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will mutually agree on the procedures related to the release of these funds during the negotiations. Such funds, whether retained in the original account or transferred, shall be made fully usable for payment to any ultimate beneficiary designed by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America undertakes to issue all necessary licenses and authorizations accordingly.
12. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree that an executive mechanism will be established to monitor the successful implementation of this MOU and the future compliance of the final deal.
13. After signing this MOU, and subject to the beginning of the implementation of paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 of the MOU, and the continuing implementation of these measures, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will start negotiations regarding the final deal exclusively on the other paragraphs.
14. The final deal will be endorsed by a binding UNSC resolution.

The Trump administration has said that economic relief won’t come until it’s assured Iran is keeping its promises; the president dodged repeated questions about the up-front sanctions being lifted upon signing.   

While the MOU states that the negotiations should be completed within 60 days, Trump said he doesn’t have a hard deadline for the talks if progress is being made. 

“I don’t view it as hard, no,” Trump told reporters of the deadline. “Just as long as they’re behaving, I really don’t care that much.” 

If progress isn’t being made, the US may return to reimposing sanctions and restart the blockade on Iranian ports, the senior US official said, adding that  “all the options will continue to be on the table.” 

The US apparently made several concessions to Iran in the final days of the peace deal negotiations, as evidenced by changes from the draft deal to the signed text — including the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon, and Tehran’s enriched uranium.

A senior Middle East diplomatic source told The Post an earlier circulated draft was from about three weeks ago, while an Iranian source said there was “a great deal of back and forth” on the document after Israel launched strikes on Beirut and in Iran over the weekend.

Among the biggest changes was that Iran will not transfer to another country or destroy its enriched uranium, but rather will work with the IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, to degrade it on Iranian soil.

Another change in the text bars Iran from ever buying or accepting nuclear weapons, which goes beyond an earlier pledge to “never produce nuclear weapons.”

In recent weeks, Trump has touted this as a personal demand of his.

Another big change involves the Strait of Hormuz, with the US previously demanding Iran free up the waterway immediately to resume pre-war volume. 

The updated version now only calls on Iran to “use its best efforts” to allow for safe passage through Hormuz, with free crossings to take place for only the first 60 days of the cease-fire — even though the US will lift its blockade of Iranian ports immediately.

After that, Iran will work with Oman to “define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz.” 

There remains, however, conflicting positions on whether that would constitute a toll system, with Iran already establishing a body to carry out the service and the US confident such fees cannot be enforced. 

Trump noted that “common sense” would prevent Iran from imposing tolls on the Strait of Hormuz — saying, “They don’t want to get bombed.” 

Another big change centers on Lebanon, which has repeatedly threatened to sink the deal as Israel continues to battle Hezbollah in the nation’s southern half. 

Previously, the deal called on the fighting and all threats to come to an end, but Israel has insisted that its army would not withdraw from southern Lebanon until the threat of Hezbollah attacks is neutralized.

The new text, however, now demands that Lebanon’s territory and sovereignty be respected by all parties involved, suggesting Israel would be forced to withdraw.   

“There were discussions suggesting that Israel’s untimely attack was intended to sabotage the process,” a person familiar with mediations told The Post.

It also pledges the US will immediately lift its blockade and waive Iranian oil sanctions until a final deal is reached.

Other economic incentives — including the formal, lasting removal of sanctions — are saved until after a deal is reached.

However, critics and former officials told The Post they had concerns that the document immediately opens cash flow to Iran by waiving longstanding sanctions and lifting the blockade — even before Iran reopens the strait for other nations.

What’s more: It doesn’t ban Iran from collecting fees to access the strait after the 60-day negotiating period, said Hudson Institute senior fellow Rebecca Heinrichs, who led the Pentagon’s 2024 Strategic Posture Commission. 

“We know what a good deal is because the administration repeatedly told us for weeks: The Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage or under coercive control of any power. But this deal grants some deal of authority to Iran over the strait,” she said. “The president clearly believes the Iranians won’t collect tolls, but I just don’t see what anyone will do to stop it once oil is finally moving.”

“We were also told there would not be immediate sanctions relief, but there is,” she added.

The long-awaited release ends days of speculation and spinning about what is included in the plan and whether Iran has been given too generous a deal.

Trump has insisted that the 14-point memo doesn’t include all understandings reached privately with Iran.