A senior administration official on Friday laid out elements of a potential short-term agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which could usher in formal negotiations to end the war between the two countries.
The senior administration official, in a call with reporters Friday afternoon, said the deal: reopens the Strait of Hormuz and lifts the U.S. blockade on it; «leads to the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program;» «leads to the United States getting the enriched [nuclear] material” and that material being destroyed and removed from the country and has «an inspection regime that makes sure that this is a long-term commitment and that it’s long-term enforceable.»
President Donald Trump speaks during a proclamation signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House, June 11, 2026 in Washington.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
As part of the prospective deal, Iran would be rewarded economically if they meet their obligations, according to the senior administration officials.
«If they comply, they’re going to be relieved of a lot of the economic pressures that they’ve been under for many, many years, so they do get reintegrated into the world economy,» the senior administration official said.
The official denied that Iran would get any sanctions relief or financial relief upfront, but confirmed that if Iran holds up its end of the deal, they will be «rewarded economically.» This official would not comment on that scale.
«The Iranians don’t get anything upon the signing of the MOU or upon the negotiation itself, what they get is that they get rewarded economically for complying with their obligations under the deal,» the officials said.
Also in the deal is a 60-day period for technical negotiations on remaining points, according to the official.
The contents of a prospective deal or agreement have been much debated and the U.S. and Iran have in many cases presented views that are at odds with each other. The U.S has also faced the issue of a fractured negotiating environment with elements of the Iranian regime dispersed and potentially at odds as well.
President Donald Trump has talked about a potential deal for months during the ceasefire, punctuated by strikes and threats on both sides.
The senior administration official also said they believed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had signed off on the deal, but that they are not certain.
«Really all we can take is the people, both on the civilian and military side, both of whom have attested that the supreme leader is comfortable with where we are in the negotiation. Obviously, in their system, they can’t do anything without the sign-off of the supreme leader, ultimately,” the senior administration official said.
The official said that most of the people who have been negotiating and have authority in the Iranian system «want to sign this deal,» but noted that not everyone supports it, with Iran’s «internal fractures» that are «sort of working themselves out.»
“The Iranian hardliners, some of them want to kill the deal, but I think most of them actually want the deal, but they also want to message it to their internal audiences in a way that maximizes their upside and minimizes our upside,” the senior administration official said.
But still, this official said that the best degree of confidence that the deal will be signed in the near term is 80% to 85%.
Iran’s Foreign Minister said today a memorandum of understanding «has never been closer.»
The official expressed confidence that both sides could come to an agreement on the deal, but couldn’t give any speculation in terms of timing.
«Look, I feel very good about this deal. I think the president has got us in a very good spot, the negotiating team has got us in a very good spot,» the senior administration official said, adding that «we’re not quite at the finish line yet, but we are very close.»
A U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducts maritime operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, May 17, 2026.
U.S. Marine Corps
The official said parties are expect to sign «this agreement over the next few days.» Trump has made similar comments before, only for a deal not to come through.
When asked what comes after this MOU, when the hard task of negotiating about Iran’s nuclear program and other specifics begins, the senior administration official said that the «technical details need to be figured out, but I think there’s a commitment to do that.»
“So we envision a technical negotiation that will last 60 days — that’s what’s explicitly contemplated in the MOU,” the senior administration official said.
Asked specifically if Israel has signed on, the official left the impression that Israel would be briefed and ultimately comply with commitments not to strike Lebanon. That comes after Thursday’s statements from Israel said that they were not party to the MOU.
“The broad regional peace agreement is broad, I mean it includes Lebanon, it includes Iran, it includes the Gulf Coast countries, and includes Israel, and we feel quite confident that all of our allies, the Israelis and the Gulf Coast Coalition, will get on board,” the senior administration official said.
