The 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran expired on Monday, August 17, as President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that “the number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon.”
The MoU, which Trump signed two months prior, did not include provisions for the removal or elimination of Iran’s enriched uranium. Instead, it stipulated that the United States and Iran would “discuss the issue of enrichment, and other mutually agreed matters relating to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final Deal.” The agreement also stated that “pending the final Deal … 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.”
Iran reaffirmed in the MoU that it would “not procure or develop nuclear weapons,” though this statement has been made by Tehran previously.
The Trump-signed MoU also committed the United States to “develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The expiring MoU, intended to permanently terminate hostilities between the two nations, is now formally dead. Both countries had already declared it ineffective weeks earlier due to renewed hostilities that began shortly after the agreement was signed.
On August 12, Trump claimed on Truth Social that the United States “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz,” adding in all capital letters, “I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Two days later, he stated that “pretty soon” he would “be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.” By August 18, Trump posted on Truth Social a map circled around the Strait of Hormuz with the heading “NEW U.S. TERRITORY.”
A report emerged on August 17 describing Trump’s comments to an aide that he is “in no hurry” despite ongoing backchannel communications between Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials and U.S. representatives, as Tehran has publicly defied international demands. The president reportedly told the aide that Iran “is dying and playing its hand like a good poker player,” urging Tehran to “wave the white flag.” In an additional statement, Trump warned Oman: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s— out of them.”
Oman has become a point of contention for Trump due to its negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has no legal claim to the Strait of Hormuz, and under the U.S. Constitution, the president does not have the authority to unilaterally declare it American territory.
