How Trump's memo of understanding with Iran compares to the Obama nuclear deal

Washington — The memorandum of understanding that President Trump struck with Iran last weekend sets up a two-month sprint toward a longer-term deal over the fate of the Iranian nuclear program, eight years after Mr. Trump pulled out of an Obama-era nuclear agreement that he viewed as "disastrous" and "one-sided." The Trump administration says its memorandum of understanding is far superior to the Obama administration's 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and will do much more to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists it will be different from the JCPOA because the U.S. will "make sure the military option is there," something Mr. Trump stressed. The memorandum is not a final agreement like the JCPOA, which numbered hundreds of pages and was packed with technical details. Rather, the new deal is a 14-point framework that extends the ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran war and sets the stage for talks on a permanent nuclear agreement. It doesn't include specifics on what will happen to Iran's enriched uranium or its nuclear program, leaving those details to be sorted out over the next 60 days. The text of the deal was read out to reporters by senior U.S. officials on Wednesday. …