How to read the US-Iran draft agreement: Big commitments from Washington, not from Tehran | CNN Politics

Brett McGurk is a CNN global affairs analyst who served in senior national security positions under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Now that the US has released the official text of the memorandum of understanding reached over the weekend with Iran, we can begin to more fairly assess its merits. From the text, it’s remarkable how much the United States is offering for little in return. I’ve negotiated difficult agreements with Iran and this document stands out in providing Iran much of what it’s demanded in the past — and rarely gotten. Trump appears to have determined that a deal — any deal — was a better alternative to the status quo. For its part, Iran effectively held the Strait of Hormuz hostage and demanded that the US meet its price. The tactic appears to have succeeded. The essence of this memorandum of understanding (MOU) in practice is that Iran gets a lot now, including tens of billions of dollars, in exchange for not shooting at ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The full 14 points of the agreement can be read here. To understand how it works, we need to break out what happens immediately upon signing (now) and what is antici