Geopolitics · Tuesday, 18 August 2026
The memorandum between the United States and Iran has expired with no deal
The sixty-day agreement signed on 17 June in Islamabad under Pakistani mediation expired on Monday without producing a final settlement. It effectively collapsed within a month, over vaguely worded commitments and the dispute about shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz: Trump declared it "over" as early as 7 July, and the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says the United States' "gross and widespread violation" of the text meant negotiations never began. Nothing points to a revival; Pakistan keeps trying to restart direct contacts.