Trump Announces a Ceasefire, Then Signs a 60-Day MOU
President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire agreement with Iran on June 14, 2026, ending an active military conflict and committing both countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan and Qatar confirmed the deal alongside Iran. G7 leaders endorsed the framework at Evian-les-Bains on June 17, calling it a “historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapon.”
On June 19, Trump signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran, opening a 60-day window to negotiate a comprehensive agreement. The MOU secured the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and froze Iranian uranium enrichment, but it contained no language restricting Iran’s support for regional proxies or its missile capabilities. Senator Bill Cassidy called it “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. Roughly 20 percent of global oil and petroleum products pass through it annually, making its closure during the conflict a direct driver of energy price spikes felt by American consumers and U.S. allies.
A Deal Almost No One Has Read
Weeks after the signing, the administration has not released the agreement’s text, and Congress has not seen it. Vice President JD Vance described the document in back-to-back TV interviews as “a very general document,” first calling it “about a page,” then revising to “about a page and a half.” He acknowledged the specifics were unsettled.
“On a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase.”
Vice President JD Vance, CNN interview, June 16, 2026
The gap matters because Trump has repeatedly claimed the deal guarantees Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon, a claim no one outside the White House can check. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, went further. “I don’t know if it exists,” he told reporters on June 16, after he and other members of Congress were left without a briefing.
A memorandum of understanding is not a treaty. Treaties require a two-thirds Senate vote to ratify under Article II of the Constitution. Treating an unread MOU as a binding commitment that reshapes U.S. policy in the Middle East sidesteps that review.
Israel’s Beirut Strikes Nearly Derailed the Agreement
The ceasefire announcement came under pressure from a parallel crisis. Trump publicly stated that Israeli strikes on Beirut were unjustified, a notable break from the administration’s prior posture toward Israel. Reporting from Al Jazeera on June 14 indicated that Israel’s Beirut strike was the direct event that pushed Trump to finalize the Iran announcement.
“Trump says Israeli attacks on Beirut unjustified, puts Iran deal at risk.”
Al Jazeera headline, June 14, 2026
That tension has not been resolved. The formal signing has not occurred, and Israeli military operations in Lebanon remain an active variable that could affect implementation.
Congress Has Not Authorized This War or Its End
No congressional authorization covered the U.S. military conflict with Iran. The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Lawmakers have received no formal vote on either entering the conflict or the terms now ending it. A ceasefire agreement negotiated and signed by the executive branch without Senate ratification raises treaty-power questions that Congress has not yet addressed publicly.
The deal’s durability depends on what the signed agreement actually commits the United States to, and that text has still not been made public.
The Timeline, From War to Disputed Peace
Around March 2026: U.S. and Israeli strikes opened the conflict with Iran. Congress never passed an authorization for the use of military force.
May 2026: Both chambers moved on War Powers Resolutions to halt the fighting. The votes stalled.
June 13: Trump said a deal would be signed “tomorrow.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry disputed the timeline.
June 14: Trump announced a ceasefire and framework deal, brokered by Pakistan and Qatar. Iran said operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end.
June 17: Senior officials revealed the MOU’s terms: toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days, a 60-day window for a final deal, and sanctions waivers tied to Iran’s performance.
June 18: Trump and Vance digitally signed the 14-point memorandum of understanding.
June 19: The U.S. lifted its naval blockade, and tankers crossed the strait for the first time in months.
June 21-22: Iran reinstated the blockade over Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Trump threatened on social media that Iran would “not have a country” if the closure held. The two sides then opened talks in Switzerland, where mediators Qatar and Pakistan announced a 60-day roadmap to a final deal, with the U.S. Treasury preparing a 60-day sanctions waiver on Iranian oil exports.
June 24: The two sides clashed publicly over nuclear inspections and control of the strait.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and demand they assert congressional oversight before the ceasefire is signed. Ask specifically: “Will the senator insist on a public review of the agreement’s terms and any commitments the executive branch made on behalf of the United States?”
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Contact the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at (202) 224-4651 and ask the committee to schedule a public hearing on the ceasefire terms before the signing. Chair oversight matters most in the window between announcement and signature.
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Contact your House representative through house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative and ask them to co-sponsor a resolution invoking the War Powers Resolution, which requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing armed forces into hostilities. The 48-hour clock on any new military action during this ceasefire period is a lever Congress can use now.
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Monitor the State Department’s public statements at state.gov for any release of the agreement’s text. If the document is not made public before signing, contact your senators again and demand they request the text under Senate treaty-review authority.
Update, June 24, 2026: Japan is weighing a naval deployment to demine the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Iran ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported June 24. The proposal has triggered a domestic debate in Tokyo over Japan’s post-World War II pacifist constitution.
President Trump instructed the Department of Justice on Tuesday night to investigate oil companies for alleged price gouging, accusing them of not lowering pump prices in proportion to falling crude costs. Brent crude dropped below $75 per barrel for the first time since the conflict began, while US gas prices fell from a May peak of $4.56 per gallon to a current average of $3.92, according to The Guardian.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains below pre-conflict levels despite its reopening, and experts cited by The Guardian said gas prices are unlikely to return to prewar levels before year’s end due to reduced production and refinery capacity. US inflation reached a three-year high of 4.2% in May, driven largely by elevated energy costs.
Update, June 26, 2026: The ceasefire described in this brief broke down within days after Iranian forces attacked the container ship Ever Lovely south of Sirik, off Oman’s coast. In response, six U.S. aircraft struck four Iranian targets in Sirik, hitting radar installations and missile and drone storage sites along the Strait of Hormuz, according to PBS NewsHour.
Iran called the U.S. strikes “a reckless violation of the ceasefire” and vowed a response it described as “swift and decisive,” according to Al Jazeera. Vice President JD Vance told Tehran to “pick up the phone” and warned that “violence will be met with more violence.”
The strait itself remains the central dispute: Iran is requiring commercial vessels to use a northern route near its border rather than the southern route near Oman that the U.S. prefers, per PBS NewsHour. Negotiators who brokered the original agreement have not announced a revised timeline for reopening the waterway.
Update, June 28, 2026: The June 17 memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran has collapsed into mutual strikes, with both sides formally accusing the other of violating its terms. The IRGC launched ballistic missiles and drones at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. U.S. Central Command struck five coastal locations in Iran, targeting missile and drone storage sites and radar installations. Kuwait condemned the strikes on its soil as a “flagrant violation of its sovereignty,” and Bahrain said they undermined “opportunities for de-escalation and stability in the region.”
The dispute centers on Article 5 of the MoU, which requires Iran to arrange free safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days and to complete demining within 30 days. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking at a press conference in Baghdad on June 28, said the strait remains under Tehran’s “total oversight and management” and warned that any outside intervention would delay its reopening. The IRGC had on Thursday forced four tankers transiting the southern corridor in Omani territorial waters to reverse course, citing an “authorised route” running through Iranian waters, according to maritime monitor Windward AI.
Ship transits through the strait dropped from 70 on Wednesday to 40 on Saturday, per Windward AI. President Trump posted on Truth Social that U.S. forces struck Iranian sites “for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” and warned that Iran “will no longer exist” if the U.S. is forced to “militarily complete the job.”
Sources
- U.S. and Iran announce an initial deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz — NPR Politics (2026-06-15)
- Trump touts Iran deal and Ukraine ambition as he arrives at G7 — Al Jazeera (2026-06-15)
- WATCH: Trump predicts ‘great things’ from Iran deal as he meets with Macron at G7 — PBS Politics (2026-06-15)
Al Jazeera: US and Iran Announce Ceasefire Agreement, Strait of Hormuz Deal
Al Jazeera: Israel’s Beirut Strike Pushed Trump on Iran Ceasefire Announcement
U.S. Energy Information Administration: Strait of Hormuz Carries 20 Percent of Global Oil
Brennan Center for Justice: War Powers Resolution and Congressional Authority Over Armed Conflict
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Contact and Oversight Role