Iran’s art of the deal

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: We finally have some more details on Donald Trump’s Iran deal, and the reviews are not positive. What do we know? The text of the deal, or MOU — memorandum of understanding — was released yesterday through news outlets, following several days of confusion after Trump announced the peace agreement, sans specifics, on Sunday. It’s a fairly brisk 14 points ending the immediate conflict everywhere — including Lebanon, which as my colleague Joshua Keating reports, could be an ongoing problem — and setting out a path to continued negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The US, for its part, gets the Strait of Hormuz open again, or at least opening — but after 60 days, Iran’s commitment to let vessels pass through free of charge expires. Once it does, Iran has suggested it may begin charging unspecified fees to traverse the strait. (The US naval blockade on Iran was also lifted on Thursday.) Some of the other particulars have not gone over well — including with Republican senators. Among them: * Iran gets at least $300 billion in a fund for “reconstruction and economic development,” possibly as a largely or entirely private sector investment. * The US will lift “all types of sanctions” on Iran. * And Iranian funds abroad will be unfrozen. The fund and sanctions relief are contingent on a final deal being reached, according to the MOU — but Iran will have new income pouring in sooner than that: The MOU also says that the US will issue export waivers for Iranian oil immediately upon its signing, allowing the country to sell its oil more broadly and at higher prices. As Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) put it on Thursday, “It’s tough to say that that the agreement is one that leaves Iran in a worse place, and the United States in a better place.” Also, some bad news for Vice President JD Vance: In remarks Wednesday, Trump joked that “If it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD.” And with that, it’s time to log off… Hi readers, happy fake Friday! The Logoff will be off tomorrow for Juneteenth, so we’re going to wrap up with one good thing (and one World Cup thing) and send you into the weekend. Today, that’s this terrific speech from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the Knicks championship parade in Manhattan. Plus, from the world of the World Cup: Merlin the duck, who’s cheering for Mexico. Have a great long weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!