Report: U.S. and Iran Discuss Signing Deal Early, Strait of Hormuz Terms May Take Effect First
Taylor Wilson
The US and Iran are discussing moving the memorandum-of-understanding signing from Friday to as early as Wednesday, switching to a remote format — the core aim is to activate the Strait of Hormuz provisions sooner, potentially reopening the world's most critical oil shipping lane ahead of schedule.
Why the sudden push to sign earlier?
Axios reporter Barak Ravid reports that the US, Iran, and mediators are discussing moving the signing from Friday to as early as Wednesday, conducted remotely.
This means → the push is not procedural but substantive: both sides have already agreed on the Strait of Hormuz terms, and an earlier signing would reopen the strait before Friday.
A diplomat from the mediating country confirmed this rationale to the press.
Why hasn't the deal text been released?
A source familiar with the talks says Iran requested the text not be published before the formal signing.
The same source denied that the White House is responding to domestic political pressure to release the text.
In plain terms = text secrecy and the signing timeline are tied together — Iran wants to sign first and publish later, which is one reason the schedule keeps shifting.
Does an earlier signing change Friday's US-Iran meeting?
No. Even if the signing moves up, the US and Iranian delegations will still meet in Switzerland on Friday as planned.
The US delegation is led by Vice President Vance; the Iranian delegation by parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.
Friday's agenda shifts to launching negotiations on Iran's nuclear program — This means → an earlier signing only changes when the strait opens and the text drops; the nuclear-talks roadmap stays on track.
Has the deal already been signed? Why do accounts conflict?
A senior government official said the deal was already signed electronically on Sunday by President Trump, Vance, and Ghalibaf.
A second informed source corroborated the Sunday e-signing, calling the upcoming event a second signing.
But a diplomatic source said no signing took place on Sunday and could not explain why two signings would be needed.
In plain terms = whether it was signed, and how many times, remains contradictory across three sets of sources — as of Wednesday morning, no final decision on the accelerated timeline has been made, and the White House declined to comment.
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