What’s Next for US-Iran in Hormuz With Expired MOU?

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Both sides accused the other of violating the June agreement shortly after it was signed. The Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending fighting between the US and Iran expired on Monday, with little sign that either side is willing to extend the agreement, which both sides have accused the other of violating for weeks. “We have not yet made a decision to restart negotiations with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Meanwhile, mediators from Qatar and Pakistan continued to exchange messages with Iran. Araghchi added that Iran was working on a separate agreement with Oman to hash out new shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, but emphasised that this was only possible if a political solution was reached. On the US side, President Donald Trump told supporters in New York on Friday that the US would soon claim the critically important waterway for itself. Here’s what you need to know about the expired MoU. The agreement, signed on June 17 by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, followed rare high-level talks hosted by Pakistan. It was meant to bring an end to more than three months of war that had killed thousands and crippled commercial movement in the Gulf, especially oil and gas exports relied on globally. Leaving complex issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme to be dealt with later, the agreement sought not only to find an immediate diplomatic solution to halt the war with Tehran, but also to find an end to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. Iran and the US, the agreement said, “declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations” and that a “final deal” would “confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts”. The agreement said this “final deal” would be endorsed by the UN Security Council and would be reached in a maximum of 60 days, which could be extended by mutual consent. The US was to end its naval blockade within 30 days, remove its forces from near Iran after the “final deal” was reached and begin work on a reconstruction and development package for Iran of at least $300bn. Washington also agreed to terminate sanctions against Iran, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports and allow Tehran to access frozen funds. Iran, for its part, was to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz and allow ships to pass “with no charge” for 60 days. Tehran also reaffirmed it would not seek nuclear weapons and would negotiate on issues such as enrichment, the details of which would be laid out in a “final deal” to be backed by the UN. Although the US and Iranian versions of the agreement differed slightly, much of the dispute since its signing has centred on more basic issues, such as whether it was a ceasefire or a more permanent agreement and what each side was supposed to do . Whether the entire agreement was still in effect soon became disputed , and by June 27, Trump was calling Iranian strikes in the region “a foolish violation” of the deal. Iran said US strikes “violate Article 1 of the Memorandum of Understanding”. On July 7, Trump said the agreement was “over,” and the US continued launching attacks on Iran, including on what Tehran called civilian infrastructure, killing at least 50 people. Iranian officials said the US had “violated and suspended” all its commitments and Tehran had “likewise suspended all our own commitments”. Since then, the US has not fully lifted sanctions on Iran and Trump has scoffed at the idea of paying Iran for reconstruction, suggesting instead that Tehran pay compensation to families of protesters it had killed “over the last 50 years” and “all the people they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts”. Reopening Hormuz has not materialised either, with Iranian and US officials continuing to insist their side controls the strait. Earlier this week, the Pentagon said it had fired on a Panama-flagged cargo vessel in the strait because it “violated the US blockade against Iran.” “The ceasefire stopped and was rendered obsolete after the US didn’t comply with the terms of the agreement, or the MoU,” Mostafa Khoshcheshm, professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Tehran, told Al Jazeera. In particular, he added, Tehran views the US as having failed on its promises of releasing Iranian assets, lifting sanctions, removing its naval blockade and havin