The memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran leaves untouched key military capabilities that President Donald Trump cited when launching the conflict Feb. 28, raising concerns among Gulf Arab allies and security analysts about Tehran’s ability to project power across the Middle East.

The MOU signed Wednesday ends hostilities between the U.S. and Iran but imposes no restrictions on Tehran’s ballistic missile arsenal, drone stockpiles, or its network of allied militias operating throughout the region, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

“The MOU doesn’t address any of Iran’s core power-projection capabilities,” Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and former adviser to Bahrain’s crown prince, told the Journal.

The conflict was driven in part by U.S. and Israeli opposition to Iran’s missile program and support for proxy forces, in addition to concerns over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The agreement does include provisions addressing Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group. The opening clause commits the United States to protecting Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and calls for the permanent termination of military operations there.

On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said only after receiving assurances by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian “on his own behalf and on behalf of the other members regarding the safeguarding of the rights of the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front and his explicit acceptance of that responsibility, I granted my permission.”

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Tagged: Middle East BACK TO HOMEPAGE