US-Iran ceasefire expires as Iran says MoU aimed to end the war, not just pause it

The 60-day window the US and Iran gave themselves to negotiate an end to their war closed on August 17 with nothing to show for it. No permanent agreement. No extension. No scheduled talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi framed the core disagreement with a line that doubles as both a diplomatic position and a frustration: the memorandum of understanding was supposed to deliver “the end of the war, not a ceasefire.” What the deal was supposed to do The MoU, signed on June 17, 2026, by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, was designed as a structured pause. Both sides would halt hostilities for 60 days while negotiators worked toward a permanent resolution to a conflict that had disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes through that strait on any given day. The agreement was brokered with help from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman. During the 60-day window, both sides accused the other of violations. Military actions reportedly continued on both sides. The core issues that needed resolution, US sanctions relief and the terms under which Iran would clear mines from the Hormuz passage, remained unresolved. Why “e...