60-Day Free Passage and Uranium Stays in Iran: "A U.S. Surrender"

[Anchor]

Let’s take a closer look at the final draft of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending the war, which was released by the U.S. today (June 18). There has been a long-standing battle of narratives as the claims from both the U.S. and Iran were starkly divided. However, looking at the published text, assessments are emerging that both the Strait of Hormuz and enriched uranium issues represent a victory for Iran and a surrender by the U.S.

Gwak Sang-eun analyzes why this is the case.

[Reporter]

In the final version of the MOU, signed by the presidents of both countries, the first thing that stands out is Article 5, which concerns the right of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

In addition to the original, principled language about normalizing the strait, the final draft includes a new provision stating that Iran will do its best to guarantee free passage without fees for 60 days.

Furthermore, it includes a clause about "dialogue with Oman" to establish future management service regulations for the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's chief negotiator, Ghalibaf, has already publicly declared that they will naturally begin charging service fees once the 60 days have passed.

There has also been a change in the clause regarding the disposal of enriched uranium, with the addition of a provision that it will be diluted on-site, at the very least under the supervision of the IAEA.

Initially, President Trump had insisted on bringing the nuclear material to the U.S., but in the final draft, he has effectively accepted its disposal within Iran.

Now, he is changing his tune, claiming that the highly enriched uranium is not actually of great value.

In addition to the four points in the original draft, Iran added the end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, as a prerequisite for the final negotiation. Through this, Iran has secured leverage to force the U.S. to pressure Israel.

The issue of Iran's ballistic missiles, which had been a concern for neighboring countries, was omitted from the negotiation agenda entirely.

Nevertheless, President Trump maintains that there is no problem.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: We will discuss issues like conventional ballistic missiles. However, since other countries also have missiles, Iran should also possess them to some extent. They need to have missiles, too.]

On the other hand, Iran has opened up oil export routes that were blocked by U.S. and Western sanctions and has even codified the "unfreezing" of assets as a condition for implementing the MOU, achieving most of its core demands.

As questions are raised about what this war—which held the global economy hostage and resulted in the sacrifices of countless Iranian civilians and U.S. troops—was actually for, sharp criticism is pouring out even from the U.S. conservative camp, calling it "effectively a U.S. surrender."

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.