White House Disputes Leaked MOU Text
The White House says leaked MOU texts don't reflect the real agreement, but CNN, Bloomberg, and Al Arabiya all published near-identical versions. What's actually in the deal?
The White House is pushing back on leaked versions of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding circulating in the press, with Communications Director Steven Cheung stating that the text obtained by CNN does not reflect the language of the actual agreement. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency similarly described leaked versions as inaccurate.
The pushback comes as CNN, Bloomberg, and Al Arabiya all published what appeared to be essentially the same 14-point draft document, with only minor wording differences between versions, phrases like "both sides" versus "both parties," or "funding" versus "financing." The near-identical nature of the leaks suggests a single sourced document circulating among outlets, though the White House insists it is not the real thing.
U.S. officials have been trying to manage the fallout on two fronts. On one hand, they are downplaying the leaked text itself. U.S. officials described the agreement as a "political document" and said the text doesn't reflect critical back-channel commitments Iran has made to the U.S., which they said gave them greater confidence in signing. "People shouldn't read too much into the language of the MOU," one official told CNN.
On the other hand, officials are simultaneously arguing that what matters more than the written document are the oral understandings reached between the two sides. One official said: "What's more important than the actual document is the understandings we have with each other... it basically says we will release sanctions, we will do a deal with nuclear, we will unfreeze funds. But we'll release sanctions when, based on progress."
Vice President JD Vance told CNN the MOU is one-and-a-half pages long. The MOU is due to be formally signed Friday in Switzerland, triggering a 60-day window to negotiate final terms.
The administration's posture, that the written document is vague and largely symbolic while the real commitments exist in back-channel conversations, has already drawn criticism from Iran hawks, including some within Trump's own circle, who argue the U.S. is putting too much faith in Iran's word rather than binding written commitments.
Trump has vowed to release the actual text "in a couple of days."