US Publishes 14-Point ‘Islamabad MoU’ With Iran to Halt War and Reopen Hormuz

Interim ceasefires that precede thorny political negotiations are a well-worn page of diplomatic history: the 1953 Korean Armistice bought time for talks that still drag on, while the 1988 UN-brokered truce ended the Iran-Iraq war yet left big issues unresolved for decades. Like the 1975 Sinai II accord that pried Egypt and Israel apart and kept oil flowing, today’s MoU is less about friendship than about reopening a critical energy choke-point and quieting markets—echoing great-power concerns over Gulf oil that date back to Britain’s 1903 ‘protectorate’ of Kuwait. It also shows the pendulum of US Iran policy swinging yet again: from Obama’s 2015 JCPOA exit in 2018, to war in 2026, and now to a provisional peace that could still collapse. Whether this moment registers in 2126 will depend on if the 60-day window locks in durable nuclear limits and regional security architecture, or merely pauses a cycle of confrontation that energy security and domestic politics keep resurrecting.