The Memo: Debate rages over Iran deal that remains unseen

The political world is aflame with debate about a document virtually nobody has seen.

The announcement Sunday that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) sparked optimism — and lifted financial markets when they opened Monday morning.

But a huge vacuum has been left by the failure, so far, to publish the MOU. Into that gap, American and Iranian officials have sought to push vastly different interpretations of the deal. At home, defenders and detractors of President Trump have done battle as usual.

Vice President Vance on Monday praised Trump’s “unwavering resolve” and insisted that the deal would help bring “peace and prosperity” to the American people.

But Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) countered that Trump’s “war of choice has been an enormous strategic loss for our country and only emboldens Iran.”

One of the few things to be widely accepted is that the MOU kicks the can down the road on some of the most vexing issues. 

Specifically, the expectation is that there will be further negotiations, stretching across a new 60-day ceasefire period, on the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the fate of its existing store of highly enriched uranium. The question of whether and how sanctions on Iran will be lifted or its assets unfrozen also remains unsettled.

Trump, buffeted domestically by the rise in gas prices and some of the lowest poll ratings of his political career, has been stressing the immediate benefit from the interim agreement — the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. 

“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he exulted in a social media post Sunday moments after Pakistan, which has played an intermediary role, announced the........

© The Hill