Three-Stage Architecture Holds — Hormuz First, Sanctions Later, 60-Day Nuclear Window
The proposed three-stage framework remains the operational template: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement — which can be extended to 60 days for nuclear-programme talks. Under the emerging agreement, the Strait of Hormuz would gradually reopen in parallel with the US ending its blockade of Iranian ports. The US would allow Iran to sell oil through sanctions waivers, with sanctions relief and the release of Iran’s frozen funds negotiated during the 60-day period. Sanctions relief is contingent on the strait being fully functional, not just declared open.
The conditional sequencing — Hormuz first, then everything else — is the operational architecture of the proposed memorandum of understanding. A senior Trump administration official described the approach yesterday as “relief for performance”: allowing Iran to trade oil would also free up the global oil market by unblocking the strait. Iran would commit not to pursue a nuclear weapon and to enter negotiations on giving up its highly enriched uranium stockpile and pausing new enrichment. President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend that he will not sign any final agreement without conditions that Iran dismantle its entire nuclear programme and remove all enriched uranium from the country.