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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz made it plain on Sunday that the administration is pushing hard to get a preliminary framework in place this weekend and insisted verification that Iran will not possess nuclear weapons must be nonnegotiable. Waltz framed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as part of that arrangement, signaling Washington’s determination to translate battlefield pressure into diplomatic gains.
President Trump publicly said the deal would be signed on Sunday and that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened to international shipping immediately afterward, a move that would end the U.S. naval blockade if implemented. Reporting from multiple outlets confirms the memorandum of understanding under discussion would aim to restore transit through Hormuz and pause hostilities while further talks proceed.
Officials close to the talks have described the arrangement as a phased deal: quick, concrete steps to reopen commerce and extend the ceasefire, followed by up to 60 days of negotiations over thornier issues like Tehran’s nuclear program. That timeline gives the United States leverage to demand intrusive verification, and it must be used — not squandered by wishful thinking or naïve appeasement.
Make no mistake: this whole episode is Iran’s strategic blunder. By coming to the table under pressure, Tehran has shown that American resolve and targeted action change the calculus, and reopening Hormuz would restore a vital artery that handles a huge share of the world’s oil and gas — a leverage point we should never surrender.
There are reports the negotiations even touch on frozen Iranian assets and other incentives as “trust-building” measures, which means conservatives must demand ironclad, verifiable guarantees before any concessions are made. No money, no sanctions relief, and no normalization without on-the-ground verification, congressional oversight, and concrete demilitarization steps that can be independently confirmed.
This is a moment for patriotic clarity, not hand-wringing: stand with leaders who back firm terms, celebrate the fact that pressure produced a seat at the table, and refuse to let Washington trade away security for a photo op. We should welcome a peaceful end to hostilities only if it makes America safer, keeps weapons out of murderous regimes’ hands, and restores free passage through international waterways under rules that favor liberty and law.
