{"id":2170,"date":"2026-06-16T06:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T06:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170"},"modified":"2026-06-16T06:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T06:36:52","slug":"the-still-mysterious-iran-deal-leaves-a-lot-of-work-undone-at-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170","title":{"rendered":"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Aside from the vast damage the war did to Iran\u2019s military assets and the deaths of so many of the ruling cabal, this Memorandum of Understanding seems to leave things right back where they were before the bombs started dropping.<\/p>\n

Read more Iran could \u2018access\u2019 $300B for rebuilding under US deal \u2014 funded by Gulf states attacked by Tehran<\/a><\/p>\n

That is: Tehran hasn\u2019t actually agreed to give up its nuclear program or its support of terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas \u2014 but only to talk<\/em> about it all some more.<\/p>\n

Maybe the full MOU text makes things look better . . . or worse: The fact that it\u2019s still a mystery isn\u2019t encouraging.<\/p>\n

When does the world get to see it?<\/p>\n

If the Strait of Hormuz really opens, it\u2019ll do one<\/em> good thing \u2014 but the planned 60 days of talks could still yield a serious win for Tehran.<\/p>\n

The White House says those negotiations will settle the details of Iran destroying its enriched uranium, ending its nuclear program forever and its terror funding too, but what if they don\u2019t?<\/p>\n

And what might US diplomats give away along the way?<\/p>\n

The last few months have proved that Iran\u2019s rulers are more willing to take far more pain (or to have their citizenry suffer, at least) than America\u2019s leaders (ahead of the midterms, at least).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a huge edge for Tehran in the negotiations.<\/p>\n

Plus, the Iranians are masters at drawing out talks, steering them into ridiculous side issues, reversing concessions they\u2019d supposedly committed to, adding new demands at the last minute and so on.<\/p>\n

Per some reports, they pulled that last trick Sunday, as the Americans wanted to announce a deal on President Donald Trump\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

Iran says it won US recognition of Iranian-Omani sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an enormous<\/em> coup as it means accepting the tolls that Trump has rightly called unacceptable.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s pure propaganda \u2014 but we have nothing more to go on without the full MOU text.<\/p>\n

At the least, Iran remains positioned to close the Strait again whenever it likes, and certainly to threaten the move regularly all through the talks.<\/p>\n

Trump wasn\u2019t willing to force<\/em> a Hormuz opening these last two months \u2014 why would he ever be?<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | High-flying friends killed after being swept out to sea while napping on notorious California beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Some advisers seem to have told him it would require US troops on the ground, and he said last week, \u201c\u2060I don\u2019t know that America has the stomach for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if Washington is ready to restore the blockade of Iran at that point, this is still another edge for Tehran.<\/p>\n

And Trump\u2019s January \u201chelp is on the way\u201d promise to the Iranian people is plainly a dead letter.<\/p>\n

Also concerning: It seems the deal will net Tehran a $300 billion \u201creconstruction fund,\u201d paid by the Gulf Arab states (the ones they\u2019ve\u00a0been hurling sporadic missiles at!).<\/p>\n

If any of that cash transfers before Iran makes a hard delivery on giving up its nuke program \u2014 including handing over the \u201cnuclear dust\u201d \u2014 that\u2019s an outright win for the regime.<\/p>\n

One more worry: Iran claims it\u2019s a ceasefire violation if Israel responds to the missiles Hezbollah keeps shooting at it, and Trump\u2019s gripes about Jerusalem\u2019s actions suggest he won\u2019t just tell Tehran to stuff it.<\/p>\n

No nation can sit by when enemy attacks force 50,000 of its citizens to evacuate; if Israeli self-defense will really blow up the deal, it won\u2019t last 60 days.<\/p>\n

All signs point to this agreement being cooked up by administration figures Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Vice President J.D. Vance, who care more about the stock market and online optics than Iran\u2019s threat to the world. Reports suggest that reasonable voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe weren\u2019t consulted or had their concerns ignored.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

More than two months ago, Trump told a world the two sides were within two weeks of a deal on all<\/em> the issues.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s since insisted dozens of times that an agreement is nearly there.<\/p>\n

Yet now all he has is Iran\u2019s promise to talk for two more<\/em> months, albeit with the Strait open in exchange for (at least) an end to the US blockade.<\/p>\n

If any cynic suggests this has the potential in the long term to wind up as bad as President Barack Obama\u2019s accord with Iran, we don\u2019t see how at this point we could prove him wrong.<\/p>\n

Read more Jelly Roll and wife Bunnie Xo divorcing after nearly 10 years of marriage<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tehran hasn\u2019t actually agreed to give up its nuclear program or its support of terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas \u2014 but only to talk about it all some more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nThe still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tehran hasn\u2019t actually agreed to give up its nuclear program or its support of terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas \u2014 but only to talk about it all some more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T06:36:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T06:36:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170\"},\"wordCount\":791,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170\",\"name\":\"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T06:36:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=2170#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"Tehran hasn\u2019t actually agreed to give up its nuclear program or its support of terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas \u2014 but only to talk about it all some more.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T06:36:52+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best","datePublished":"2026-06-16T06:36:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170"},"wordCount":791,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp","articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170","name":"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-16T06:36:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7ec5bacbd68f82dab42a9a21c5b8a910.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2170#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The still-mysterious Iran deal leaves a LOT of work undone \u2014 at best"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}