US officials downplay text of the Iran agreement, saying it doesn't account for back-channel commitments
Source: CNN Politics
PUBLISHED Jun 16, 2026, 6:50 PM ET
US negotiators are working to quickly release the text of the agreement between Washington and Tehran, even as they downplay the significance of the specific language in the document, US officials told CNN.
The officials described the text of the agreement as incredibly vague, mainly intended to create a more favorable environment for the highly technical, in-person talks to come. They added that the framework is aimed at providing Iran the ability to sell it politically to their internal audience.
Additionally, the officials said that the text of the memorandum of understanding which Vice President JD Vance told CNN Monday is one-and-a-half pages long didnt reflect critical back-channel commitments Iran has made to the US, which they argued gave them more confidence in signing on to the arrangement.
People shouldnt read too much into the language of the MOU, one of the officials said, describing the agreement as a political document.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/16/politics/iran-agreement-text-trump
Meaning it's non-existent.
wolfie001
(8,137 posts)Lovie777
(24,258 posts)sop
(19,725 posts)They're saying Iran's leaders are worried about selling this agreement politically to their internal audience, but didn't Trump tell us Iran's leaders are a bunch of murderous thugs who won't allow political protests, that Iran isn't a democracy, and it doesn't allow any internal political opposition? It seems the only one worried about selling this agreement politically to an internal audience is Trump.
Baitball Blogger
(52,821 posts)In the end, Iran thinks Trump is suffering from dementia, so who really thinks that theyre taking any of this seriously?
ananda
(35,714 posts)I figure anything they do or say will work on magats,
but that number is around 35%.
Baitball Blogger
(52,821 posts)Dear God. Its the Florida system. We are truly in hell.
yardwork
(69,859 posts)(I shouldn't laugh.)
OldBaldy1701E
(11,732 posts)They make a world-wide disruption and then end up on their asses and having to pay Iran just to try and patch up what they ruined for everyone.
Why any other country would want to even be 'diplomatic' with this joke of a nation anymore is a surprise to me. It is obvious that we are becoming a real threat to the entire planet.
And, we don't seem too worried about what this nation had wrought. That is just as surprising.
Strelnikov_
(8,200 posts)Translation: The document gives away the farm to Iran. The delay in releasing the document is because it is politically problematic, the propaganda needs to be jumpstarted before release.