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The United States and Iran are 
negotiating A1 page memorandum 

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of understanding that would 
declare an end to the war 

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throughout the region, including
Lebanon. 

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Commit Iran to a moratorium on 
nuclear enrichment, require the 

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removal of Iran's highly 
enriched uranium stockpile from 

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Iranian territory, gradually 
reopen the Strait of Hormuz 

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while simultaneously lifting the
US blockade, release U.S. 

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sanctions and frozen Iranian 
funds, and launch 30 days of 

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detailed negotiations toward 
permanent comprehensive 

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agreement. 
Iran's response is expected 

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within 48 hours. 
Trump posted on Truth Social 

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that if Iran does not agree, the
bombing starts and it will be 

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sadly at a much higher level in 
intensity than before. 

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Secretary of State Rubio 
declared that Operation Epic 

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Fury, the military phase of the 
war is concluded and Trump, 

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asked if there was a deadline, 
said never a deadline, It'll 

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happen. 
It is Thursday, May 7th, 2026, 

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Day 69 of Operation Epic Fury, 
one page 30 days of negotiation,

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12 to 15 years of enrichment 
moratorium. 

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Those are the numbers that now 
define where this war might end.

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Iran is expected to reply within
48 hours. 

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And after 69 days of bombs, 
blockades, ceasefire violations,

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rejected proposals, Islamabad 
sessions, straight 

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confrontations, and Operation 
Eternal Darkness, the specific 

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shape of a deal is finally 
visible in a piece of paper that

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both sides are reportedly 
negotiating over. 

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This is episode 69 of Epic Fury,
the US Iran war podcast. 

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Follow on Spotify, an Apple 
podcast to stay with this story 

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as it develops. 
Let's get into it. 

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Begin with the Mou, because it 
is the most consequential single

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diplomatic development of the 
entire 69 Day War, and because 

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it's terms define for the first 
time publicly and specifically 

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what the two sides are actually 
negotiating and what a 

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resolution of this conflict 
would concretely look like. 

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Axios and Reuters both reported 
on Wednesday independently and 

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from multiple sources that 
United States and Iran are 

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actively negotiating A1 page 
memorandum of understanding. 

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The document in its current 
reported form would declare an 

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end to the war throughout the 
region, a formulation that 

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explicitly and specifically 
includes Lebanon, marking the 

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first time AUS Iran Framework 
document has directly addressed 

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the Lebanon front. 
It would establish a 30 day 

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period of negotiations on a 
comprehensive agreement covering

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the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's 
nuclear program, U.S. sanctions 

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relief and the release of frozen
Iranian fonts. 

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During those 30 days, both sides
would gradually ease 

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restrictions in the Strait. 
Iran's closure and the US 

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blockade would both be 
progressively lifted in parallel

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rather than sequentially, giving
each side a proportional and 

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simultaneous de escalation 
pathway. 

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And both sides would retain the 
explicit option to restore their

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previous positions, returning to
bombing or reimposing the 

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blockade if the 30 day 
negotiations collapse without 

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agreement. 
The nuclear terms being 

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negotiated are the most 
consequential component of the 

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Mou and the ones that have 
defined the entire diplomatic 

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impasse since the first 
Islamabad session. 

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Iran would commit to a 
moratorium on uranium 

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enrichment. 
The duration is actively 

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disputed and remains the last 
major unresolved numerical gap 

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in the reported framework. 
Iran has proposed five years. 

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the United States has demanded 
20 years. 

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Three sources familiar with the 
negotiations told Axios that the

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likely landing point is 
somewhere between 12 and 15 

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years. 
A fourth source told Axios that 

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15 years is the likely specific 
number. 

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The Wall Street Journal reported
Wednesday, citing an Iranian 

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official. 
That one idea under discussion 

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would allow Iran to enrich 
uranium at low levels, 

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specifically up to 3.67% purity,
after the moratorium expires, 

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before any further permanent 
restrictions are applied. 

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Those numbers are worth pausing 
on. 

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Iran currently holds uranium 
enriched to 60% purity. 90% is 

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the threshold for weapons grade 
material capable of powering a 

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nuclear warhead. 3.67% is the 
enrichment level of civilian 

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nuclear reactor fuel, the kind 
used in power plants to generate

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electricity. 
The moratorium's function is to 

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freeze the program at its 
current state, prevent Iran from

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advancing toward the 90% 
threshold, and give the 

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international verification 
infrastructure time to establish

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itself around the agreement. 
The 12 to 15 year duration 

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determines how long that freeze 
holds before the question of 

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Iran's enrichment capability is 
revisited. 

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Five years. 
Iran's proposal is a duration 

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shorter than two US presidential
election cycles is long enough 

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to produce AUS administration 
that might not share Trump's 

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nuclear red lines. 20 years. the
US demand is longer than any 

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previous major nuclear agreement
in the modern era and longer 

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than the Obama era JCPOA by a 
decade. 12 to 15 years is the 

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range that both governments may 
be able to present to their 

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respective domestic 
establishments as a workable 

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outcome. 
For Iran, it is not permanent 

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dismantlement of the nuclear 
program. 

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It is a temporary moratorium 
after which enrichment can 

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theoretically return, giving 
common a the ability to tell the

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IRGC that Iran has not 
surrendered its nuclear 

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sovereign right permanently. 
For the United States, it is 

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longer than the 10 year sunset 
provisions in the 2015 JCPOA 

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that Trump withdrew from in 2018
precisely because he judged the 

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time frame too short. 
It is also long enough that no 

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U.S. 
President currently in office 

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would still be serving when the 
moratorium expires. 

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The 12 to 15 year range is the 
number that the negotiators on 

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both sides apparently believe 
they can get past their own 

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domestic hardliners, which is 
why it is the range Axios is 

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reporting as the likely landing 
point. 

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Iran would also commit to 
removing its existing highly 

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enriched uranium stockpile from 
the country. 

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Iran currently holds 
approximately 408 kilograms, 

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around 900 lbs of uranium 
enriched to 60% purity. 

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According to IAA reports from 
earlier this year, that material

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is the most immediate nuclear 
proliferation risk. 

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It can be further enriched to 
weapons grade in a matter of 

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weeks using Iran's remaining 
centrifuge infrastructure. 

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The MO you would require its 
removal from Iranian territory 

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before the 30 day negotiation 
period concludes. 

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One option being discussed is 
moving the material to the 

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United States, an arrangement 
that would require Iran to 

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physically transfer its most 
sensitive nuclear material to 

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the country that bombed it 69 
days ago. 

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That specific option, moving 
Iran's nuclear material to the 

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United States, was until 
recently, something Iran had 

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consistently and publicly 
refused to consider. 

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Iran's preferred alternative 
throughout the negotiating 

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process was Russia's uranium 
custody offer, first proposed by

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Putin and actively discussed by 
Arachi during his Saint 

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Petersburg visit last week. 
Move the material to a trusted 

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ally, not to the country that 
bombed you. 

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The appearance of the US as a 
potential destination in current

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negotiations suggests that 
either the Russian option is no 

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longer on the table or that Iran
has accepted that the US will 

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require direct custody as a 
verification condition. 

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That Russia's custody cannot 
satisfy the appearance of the US

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destination option in current 
negotiations is something 

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actively under discussion rather
than something Iran has 

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categorically rejected, is one 
of the most significant reported

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shifts in Iran's negotiating 
posture of the entire war. 

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David Albright, a former UN 
nuclear inspector who runs the 

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Institute for Science and 
International Security, told 

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Israel's Channel 12 on Wednesday
that any deal must require the 

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removal of all 10 tons of Iran's
enriched uranium, not merely the

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highly enriched stockpile at 
60%, but the entire enrichment 

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programs accumulated material. 
He warned that if any 

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significant part of the 
stockpile remains in Iranian 

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territory, that is a bad deal 
without doubt because it leaves 

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Iran with the material to 
reconstitute a weapons grade 

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program faster than any 
monitoring or verification 

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infrastructure could detect and 
respond. 

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The White House confirmed 
through an Israeli official on 

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Wednesday that the removal of 
nuclear material is Trump's 

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primary red line in the Mou. 
Additional nuclear provisions 

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being negotiated include a 
clause explicitly committing 

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Iran not to operate underground 
nuclear facilities, a direct 

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reference to the Fur Dao 
enrichment site buried under a 

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mountain and calm that survived 
the opening night of Operation 

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Epic Fury, and a requirement for
SNAP IA inspections at any 

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undeclared sites, closing the 
verification gap that allowed 

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Iran to advance its nuclear 
program under the eyes of 

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international inspectors for 
years. 

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The combination of a 12 to 15 
year enrichment moratorium, 

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stockpile removal from the 
country, prohibition on 

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underground facilities, and SNAP
IA inspections constitutes a 

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more comprehensive nuclear 
constraint package than the 2015

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JCPOA. 
The JCPOA allowed Iran to retain

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limited enrichment capacity, did
not require the removal of 

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Iran's uranium stockpile to the 
United States, did not 

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permanently prohibit underground
enrichment facilities, and 

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contain 10 year sunset 
provisions after which Iran's 

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enrichment rights would have 
been restored. 

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If the MO used terms hold 
through the 30 day negotiating 

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period into a final agreement, 
the resulting nuclear framework 

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would be stronger than what the 
Obama administration negotiated.

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the United States would, in 
exchange, commit to a gradual 

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lifting of the sanctions it has 
imposed on Iran throughout the 

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conflict and the gradual release
of billions of dollars in frozen

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Iranian funds held in accounts 
in Europe, Asia, and the United 

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States. 
How many billions, in what 

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sequence, and against what 
Verified Iranian compliance 

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milestones are questions for the
30 day negotiating period rather

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than the MOU itself? 
That sanctions relief is the 

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economic counterpart to Iran's 
nuclear and Hormuz concessions, 

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the specific cost that America 
accepts in exchange for the 

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specific constraints it receives
on Iran's nuclear program. 

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Rubio said on Tuesday that the 
agreement does not need to be 

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written in one day, adding that 
what Washington needs at the 

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front end is clarity on the 
topics Iran is willing to 

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negotiate and the extent of the 
concessions it is prepared to 

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make before the 30 days begin. 
That framing the MOU is a 

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framework defining what will be 
negotiated rather than a 

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document that resolves what it 
negotiates. 

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Is the structural design one 
page 30 days, then the actual 

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comprehensive deal? 
The MOU is the entry point to 

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the room where the deal is made,
not the deal itself. 

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Is the agreement to agree backed
by the threat of what happens if

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agreement fails? 
Trump wrote on Truth Social on 

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Wednesday that if Iran does not 
agree, the bombing starts and it

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will be sadly at a much higher 
level in intensity than it was 

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before. 
That warning is the most 

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specific escalation formulation 
Trump has attached to a 

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diplomatic deadline since the 
opening weeks of the war. 

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It is not the general maximum 
pressure language of previous 

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weeks. 
It is a qualitative description 

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of what the next military phase 
would look like. 

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Higher intensity Saturn in 
Trump's framing, suggesting he 

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would prefer not to return to 
combat, but specifically worse 

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than what Iran experienced in 
the 1st 69 days. 

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Deeper strikes, more 
comprehensive destruction of 

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Iranian infrastructure, less 
restraint on target selection, 

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including potentially the power 
plants, bridges and energy 

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facilities that Trump threatened
in the war's early weeks. 

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The phrase, at a much higher 
level, is Trump's description of

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the alternative to the MOU, 
designed to make the document 

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Iran is reviewing significantly 
more attractive relative to the 

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rejection from the Oval Office. 
On Wednesday, Trump declined to 

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set a deadline. 
He said never a deadline. 

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It'll happen, it'll happen, but 
never a deadline. 

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He added They want to make a 
deal badly. 

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Asked what was different this 
time compared to previous 

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moments when a deal seemed 
imminent and did not 

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materialize, he said a few days 
ago is a long time. 

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In this context, that assessment
is accurate. 72 hours ago, the 

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Straight was seeing US Iranian 
fire claims. 48 hours ago 

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Lebanon was burning under 
Operation Eternal Darkness. 24 

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hours ago, the Hormones transit 
was paused. 

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And on Wednesday, A1 page 
framework for ending the war 

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appeared in Reuters and Axios 
reporting The speed of the shift

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from straight confrontation to 
deal framework in the same 72 

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hour window is itself a measure 
of how far the private track 

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Trump confirmed last week, the 
one only he and a handful of 

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00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,200
others understand, has actually 
advanced. 

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Rubio's declaration that 
Operation Epic Furies military 

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phase is concluded is the 
administration's formal public 

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claim that the active combat 
dimension of the war is over. 

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Combined with Trump's 
congressional letters declaring 

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hostilities terminated and the 
Hormuz Transit pause citing 

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great progress toward a complete
and final agreement, the US 

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government is now presenting A 
consistent legal and public 

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position. 
The military phase is done. 

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The blockade continues as 
economic pressure and diplomacy 

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through Pakistan is the 
operative mechanism. 

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00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,920
Whether that formulation 
survives contact with Iran's 

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00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:39,320
response to the Mou, expected 
within 48 hours, or with any 

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00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,960
further Israeli escalation in 
Lebanon, is the test of the next

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two days. 
A Pakistani source familiar with

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00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,200
Islamabad's mediation told the 
New York Post that multiple 

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00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,720
versions of the Mou draft are 
under discussion. 

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Which one is going to be 
approved? 

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The source said no one knows. 
The Israeli dimension of the Mou

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00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,840
is a significant and potentially
complicating development. 

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00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,680
An Israeli official told Army 
Radio on Wednesday that Israel 

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00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,400
was actively preparing for 
military escalation, not a deal.

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00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:12,760
When the Mou framework news 
emerge from Axios and Reuters, 

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00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,200
that disclosure is remarkable. 
In the hours before the deal 

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00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,000
reporting surfaced on Wednesday,
Israel was in a pre escalation 

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00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,000
posture. 
Operation Eternal Darkness, the 

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00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,480
largest Lebanon strike since the
war began, had just killed 357 

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00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,840
people on Tuesday. 
Israel was, according to its own

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00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,200
official, expecting that to be 
followed by further military 

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00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,040
action against Iran, not a 
breakthrough Framework 

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00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:40,280
agreement. 
Netanyahu's office rushed to 

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00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,760
deny the army radio report, 
issuing a statement attributed 

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00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,600
to a senior Israeli official 
insisting there is full 

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00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,040
coordination between Jerusalem 
and Washington, no surprises, 

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00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,880
and that the premier is in 
constant contact with Trump. 

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00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,400
Netanyahu separately convened a 
security cabinet meeting on 

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00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,840
Wednesday and told ministers he 
would speak to Trump personally 

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00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:01,680
about the Iran developments that
evening. 

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00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,280
Netanyahu rarely releases 
statements from security cabinet

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00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,440
meetings, the Times of Israel 
noted, describing it as an 

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00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,680
indication that he was eager to 
push back on reports that Israel

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00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,800
had been surprised by a 
potential agreement. 

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00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,720
Trump continues to insist on the
removal of nuclear material as 

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00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,840
his primary red line, according 
to the Israeli officials. 

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00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:24,400
Army radio account suggesting 
that Israel score concern about 

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00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,520
Iran's nuclear material is 
reflected in the MO U's current 

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00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,280
draft. 
The Lebanon clause in the MO U, 

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00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,720
however, is a more complicated 
question for Israel. 

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00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,280
Declaring the war ended 
throughout the region, 

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00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,880
explicitly including Lebanon, 
marks a significant departure 

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00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,080
from the April 8th ceasefire 
framework, which excluded 

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00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,520
Lebanon and Israel's insistence,
and which Netanyahu confirmed 

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00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,440
was not included because of 
Hezbollah. 

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00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,920
A deal that formally ends the 
Lebanon War as part of the Iran 

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00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,200
framework gives Iran precisely 
what it has been demanding since

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00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,280
April 8th, the explicit linkage 
of Lebanon to the Iran deal that

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00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,000
the US has been refusing since 
Trump said at the ceasefire 

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00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,160
press conference that Lebanon 
was not included. 

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00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,520
Israel has not yet publicly 
commented on that specific 

289
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,880
Lebanon provision and its 
silence on it. 

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00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,520
Given Netanyahu's convening of a
security cabinet and insistence 

291
00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,240
of full coordination may itself 
indicate that the Lebanon clause

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00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,080
is a point of active Washington 
Jerusalem discussion. 

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00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:24,440
The 30 day negotiation period, 
if the Mou is agreed, would take

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00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:29,000
place either in Islamabad or 
Geneva, two sources told Axios. 

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00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,040
During those 30 days, both sides
would simultaneously ease their 

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00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,800
straight restrictions. 
Iran's closure and the US 

297
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,760
blockade would be progressively 
and proportionally lifted in 

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00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,640
parallel, giving both sides a 
tangible de escalation incentive

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00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,720
and giving global shipping a 
path back to normalized Hormuz 

300
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,400
transit without either side 
having to move first. 

301
00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,040
The 30 day period would also 
address the full range of issues

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00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,560
that the first Islamabad round 
attempted to resolve in 21 hours

303
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,800
and failed to close. 
The precise enrichment 

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00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,040
moratorium duration, the stock 
power removal, logistics 

305
00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,640
constraints on Iran's ballistic 
missile program, the future of 

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00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,480
Iran's proxy network, the long 
term Hormuz governance 

307
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,880
framework, the sequencing of 
U.S. sanctions relief and the 

308
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,480
release of frozen Iranian funds 
and a long term regional 

309
00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:18,079
security architecture. 
The Mou does not resolve any of 

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00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:21,560
those issues directly. 
It creates the framework, the 

311
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,880
time window and the incentive 
structure to resolve them. 

312
00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,520
The reversibility provision is 
the structural feature that 

313
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,360
makes the Mou signable for both 
parties if the 30 day 

314
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,960
negotiations collapse. 
If Iran and the US cannot agree 

315
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,960
on the specific terms of the 
enrichment moratorium duration, 

316
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:42,640
the stockpile destination, or 
the sanction sequencing, both 

317
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,640
sides can restore their previous
positions. the US blockade can 

318
00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:50,200
return, military action can be 
authorized. 

319
00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,720
Iran can reclose the Strait. 
The MOU is not a permanent 

320
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,440
settlement. 
It is a conditional framework 

321
00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,280
with an exit clause designed to 
give both governments the 

322
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,880
ability to sign something 
without committing to whatever 

323
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,400
the detailed agreement might 
eventually require them to 

324
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,160
accept. 
The enrichment duration gap five

325
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:12,640
years proposed by Iran, 20 
demanded by the US, 12 to 15 as 

326
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,320
the likely landing point, is the
last publicly reported major 

327
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,120
unresolved number. 
It is significant because the 

328
00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,840
duration of the moratorium 
determines how much time the 

329
00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,600
international community has to 
verify Iranian compliance, build

330
00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:28,320
the governance architecture for 
the Hormuz framework, and 

331
00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,840
establish the deterrent 
structure that makes the long 

332
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,160
term settlement durable. 
A5 year moratorium is long 

333
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,000
enough to produce AUS 
presidential election and 

334
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,720
potentially A successor 
administration that inherited a 

335
00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,640
nuclear program on the verge of 
returning to enrichment. 

336
00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:47,000
A 20 year moratorium is longer 
than any previous nuclear 

337
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,360
agreement. 12 to 15 years is the
range that both sides may be 

338
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:53,560
able to present to their 
respective domestic 

339
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:55,480
establishments as a workable 
outcome. 

340
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,120
For Iran, it is not permanent 
dismantlement. 

341
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:04,080
For the US it is longer than the
JCPOA 10 year sunset provisions.

342
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,240
Day 69 one page Mou on the 
table. 

343
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,120
Iran's reply expected within 48 
hours. 

344
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,360
The Trump administration is 
waiting the MO He would end the 

345
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,320
war throughout the region, 
including Lebanon, reopen 

346
00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:22,360
Hormuz, remove Iran's uranium 
stockpile from its territory and

347
00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:25,280
launch 30 days of detailed 
negotiations toward a permanent 

348
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,520
deal. 
Trump no deadline. 

349
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,000
It'll happen. 
They want to make a deal badly. 

350
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,920
And if they don't agree, bombing
at a much higher level. 

351
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,000
Rubio the military phase is 
concluded. 

352
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,880
The diplomatic phase has 48 
hours to produce the answer that

353
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,560
69 days of war have been 
building toward. 

354
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,760
If this podcast is helping you 
make sense of what's happening, 

355
00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,560
take 2 seconds to leave a five 
star rating on Spotify or Apple 

356
00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,400
Podcasts. 
It makes a huge difference to 

357
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,280
how many people find the show. 
And if you want the deeper 

358
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,080
breakdown of what's really going
on and where this is heading, 

359
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,680
you can unlock the premium 
episodes directly in Spotify or 

360
00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,520
Apple Podcasts. 
This has been episode 69 of Epic

361
00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:11,960
Fury, the US Iran war podcast. 
The one page MOU in the war 

362
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,240
enriched no uranium, remove the 
stockpile, open Hormuz, lift 

363
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:21,560
sanctions. 30 days of talks. 
Iran's reply expected within 48 

364
00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,880
hours. 
Trump if they don't agree, the 

365
00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,480
bombing starts at a much higher 
level. 

366
00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,440
Rubio, the military phase is 
concluded. 

367
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,480
Israel preparing for escalation 
when the DealNews emerged. 

368
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:39,080
The most consequential 48 hours 
of the 69 day war begins. 

369
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,920
Now. 
Iran is reviewing the document. 

370
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:47,040
The world is watching. 69 days 
of war may be approaching a 

371
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,640
resolution or another failure. 
We will be back very soon.

