Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), on Tuesday, reported that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran promises "ensuring financing of at least $300 billion" for the purposes of "rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran." These are the same 14 points outlined in Cameron Arcand's article over at TownHall, following Wednesday afternoon's readout from a senior administration official. The MOU also promises "frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be released and made fully available" before the final agreement is signed. Iran will be able to use these released funds to immediately fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and resume its worldwide terror activities.
Immediately after the MOU's signing, "the United States Treasury Department will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like." Iran will be allowed to resume exporting oil before a final agreement is reached. This removes the most powerful source of leverage the United States has held over Iran during the negotiations.
The United States promises that immediately after signing the MOU, it will "lift the naval blockade and prevent any interference or obstruction against the Islamic Republic of Iran." In exchange, Iran promises to restore shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to its pre-war volume within a maximum of 30 days, but "taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran." The MOU also promises that within thirty days of signing the final agreement, "the United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas."
The MOU also puts restrictions on Israel regarding its war on eliminating the Hezbollah terrorist organization. The MOU states, "an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other."
The IDF has captured much of southern Lebanon over the last few months. It has been systematically going from town to town and removing all of Hezbollah's terror infrastructure, learning from its lessons with its war with Hamas. Netanyahu has pledged that the IDF's mission in Southern Lebanon will not stop.
The MOU legitimizes the current Iranian regime by stating that it and "the United States undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs."
The MOU guarantees that "the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region" and that Iran can "maintain the status quo on its nuclear program." It should be noted that the "status quo" is that Iran has never given up its ambitions of enriching uranium.
In exchange, Iran merely promises to "never produce nuclear weapons," something Iran has been "promising" not to do for decades. The MOU leaves "the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs," to the final agreement.
The United States and Iran are required to reach a final agreement "within a maximum period of 60 days," but the deadline can be extended indefinitely "by mutual consent." Iran is a master at dragging out negotiations forever, and due to the release of funds and the lifting of sanctions on exporting oil, it has an incentive to drag out negotiations as long as possible.
The MOU states "that an implementation mechanism will be established," meaning there is no means by which to ensure Iran upholds any of its promises. The final agreement between the United States and Iran will "be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council." This language seems to imply that the final agreement will not be required to be approved by the United States Senate and will rely on a UN body, which has been ineffective at doing anything other than issuing strongly worded letters.
Time will tell if these are really the 14 points of the MOU. But if this holds up to be the real deal, then the United States got played again. The full text of the leaked MOU can be read in order here.
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