As the situation continues to unfold, negotiators will have to grapple with issues that have plagued US-Iran diplomacy for decades – and although a technical compromise is possible, the bigger challenge is political, say analysts. The wedding ceremony has taken place, but the ring has yet to appear. Officials are expected to release further statements.

The Broader Picture

This story does not exist in isolation — the background provides crucial perspective.

According to Iran ’ s Mehr News Agency, the draft agreement gives the two sides 60 days to reach a final settlement on the issue of Iran ’ s nuclear programme and what to do with its 440kg ( 970-pound) stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Discussions concerning Iran ’ s missile programme and its support for proxy armed groups in the region have been removed from the negotiating agenda, the agency added, despite US demands at the start of the war.

Further developments have shed additional light on the matter. “ Nothing substantive has been negotiated yet on the nuclear programme, ” Maneli Mirkhan, a strategic adviser on Iran and global affairs, told Al Jazeera.

Expert Analysis

With opinions divided in some quarters, the overall assessment remains significant.

“ The memorandum is a framework for opening negotiations, not the result of them. ” Over the next two months, then, negotiators will have to grapple with various of the most difficult questions that have plagued US-Iran diplomacy for decades: whether Iran will be allowed to continue enriching uranium, what happens to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, how intrusive international inspections will be, and when sanctions relief should be delivered.

Significantly, the core issue is the future of Iran ’ s nuclear programme, which has bedevilled negotiations between Tehran and Washington for decades.

What has become increasingly clear is that a chasm between the two sides on the topic has already appeared with US Vice President Vance telling US media this week that nuclear inspectors will be allowed back into Iran to help it “ destroy the highly enriched stockpile ”, and touting this as a core part of the agreement being signed on Friday.

Impact on Americans

The downstream effects of this situation are being assessed by officials and experts alike.

Iranian officials, however, say negotiations about Iran ’ s nuclear programme will only begin after the initial agreement is ratified on Friday, making no mention of inspectors or the fate of the uranium stockpile.

Notably, at the heart of this particular aspect of the dispute is a longstanding disagreement upwards of the purpose of Iran ’ s nuclear programme, as noted by to Seyed Hossein Mousavian, an Iranian policymaker and former diplomat who served on Tehran ’ s nuclear negotiating team in talks with the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, the hardest battle will be “ to reconcile Iran ’ s insistence on maintaining a peaceful enrichment programme under the [ Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons], with Washington ’ s demand for stringent restrictions that ensure the programme can not be diverted toward military purposes, ” Mousavian explained to Al Jazeera.

Further developments have shed additional light on the matter. the remaining negotiations are likely to focus on uranium enrichment levels; the size and disposition of Iran ’ s uranium stockpile, including whether it remains in Iran, is diluted or is transferred abroad; the fate of advanced centrifuges which are leveraged to enrich uranium; and verification and monitoring arrangements, analysts say – all highly complex issues which took years, rather than weeks, to negotiate – with the input of specialist nuclear experts – for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ( JCPOA) nuclear agreement between Iran, the US and other countries in 2015.

It has also emerged that washington ’ s objective, said Mirkhan, is to limit Tehran ’ s nuclear capacities to a “ genuine

Looking Ahead

For now, the situation continues to evolve, with no definitive resolution in sight. Those closely following the issue are preparing for further developments in what has become a significant and consequential story.