Mojtaba Khamenei has not approved a drafted 60-day memorandum of understanding with the US, which is why President Donald Trump has also not agreed to a deal, a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
This follows a Thursday Axios report that negotiators from the US and Iran have reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to extend the ongoing ceasefire.
The proposed MoU would last 60 days and kick-start negotiations toward a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the report continued, citing two US officials.
In effect, there may be an understanding among Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, and US envoy Steve Witkoff and his team, but the senior Iranian leadership has not yet agreed to a ceasefire.
A US source confirmed the matter to the Post, emphasizing that Trump and Khamenei’s approvals are pending. Semi-official Iranian state media outlet Tasnim denied that the MoU text had been finalized and is waiting for approval.
A source close to the negotiating team reportedly told Tasnim that if the text for any agreement is finalized, it will be shared with Pakistani mediators and then announced.
MoU draft outlines Iranian compromise on enriched uranium
According to the officials who spoke to Axios, the MoU includes an Iranian commitment not to pursue the development of a nuclear weapon. It also outlines that the top priority for discussions during the 60-day period will be the removal of Iran’s enriched uranium.
The officials told Axios that the terms of the deal were mostly agreed upon on Tuesday, but representatives of both countries needed to obtain approval from senior leadership before signing.
According to American officials, Iranian negotiators had secured approval and were ready to sign the deal, but Trump asked for a few days to think about it after being briefed on the details.
The officials explained that under the proposed MoU, transit and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be “unrestricted,” with no tolls charged for passage and no harassment.
Iran will also be required to remove all mines from the Strait within 30 days, according to one official, and the US blockade on the Strait will be lifted as commercial shipping is restored.