White House spurns return to June deal with Iran, demands stronger terms

The White House has officially closed the door on resurrecting its June memorandum of understanding with Iran. The administration is citing Iranian violations as justification for demanding an entirely new framework with tougher conditions. What the deal promised, and how it fell apart The June MOU called for the cessation of military operations, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping without tolls for an initial 60-day window, the lifting of some US sanctions on Iranian oil exports, and a $300B reconstruction funding initiative. Continued strikes in Lebanon became a flashpoint, with both sides blaming the other for undermining the ceasefire provisions. By July 8, just three weeks after the signing, Trump declared the MOU “over.” The agreement had a 60-day negotiation window designed to give Vice President JD Vance and his counterparts time to hammer out a more comprehensive follow-on deal. That window expired around August 17 without producing anything resembling a final agreement. Why the White House won’t go back Iranian spokesman Esmail Baghaei and President Pezeshkian had their own version of events, but the administration has settled on a narrative in w...