Same day, same capital: Pezeshkian announces a ceasefire while the IRGC claims it destroyed eight U.S. military sites. Two tracks, one Tehran. If you're just joining us, the U.S.-Iran deal runs through the Islamabad MOU — a 60-day window for a final agreement on sanctions relief, frozen assets, nuclear terms, Hormuz, and Lebanon. Coming in, it was already straining over a straight contradiction: Washington and Tehran were telling opposite stories about whether Iran ever agreed to let UN inspectors near the bombed nuclear sites. This is Iran War Daily. Strikes have resumed, inspectors are still locked out, and somehow there's a ceasefire with a price tag attached. We start with who's hitting who — and who's paying for it. From Jana Choukeir and Jasper Ward at The Globe and Mail:
Iran and the U.S. continued their attacks in the Gulf as each accused the other of violating an interim deal signed less than two weeks ago to end their four-month-old war. Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump warned the U.S. might “militarily complete the job,” Iran early on Sunday launched missiles and drones on U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, continuing a series of escalating attacks.
Reuters reports that both capitals now accuse each other of breaching the 14-point interim deal — and the answer to the accusation is missiles. Iran launched strikes on U.S. sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early Sunday, after Trump warned the U.S. might, his words, militarily complete the job. A tanker gets hit in Hormuz, and within hours the U.S. strikes Iran again. That's the trigger right there — the strait was the whole point of this deal, and it's the first thing back on fire. And the timing is what I keep coming back to — the agreement was signed less than two weeks ago, per the Globe and Mail. The ceasefire framework, remember, was supposed to buy a 60-day window. Instead, it's getting stress-tested with live ordnance before it's even settled in. Two weeks. Hormuz moves about a fifth of the world's traded oil, and these two papered over it with a one-pager that couldn't even make it that long. I want the Lloyd's premium number this morning, because that tells me whether this is theater or the real thing. Here's News18:
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced a ceasefire agreement, leading to the removal of oil and petrochemical sanctions and the release of frozen assets. • Pezeshkian confirmed $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar would be returned, with efforts ongoing to secure the remaining $6 billion of a total $12 billion.
Pezeshkian put a number on it this morning: six billion dollars in Iranian funds held in Qatar would be returned, with what he calls 'efforts ongoing' for the remaining six billion of a twelve billion total. He's tying all of it to the Switzerland frameworks and the Islamabad MOU, and he's repeating that Iran does not seek a nuclear weapon. That's the Iranian president's account — on the same morning we opened the show with the U.S. and Iran trading strikes. Six of twelve, and the other half is 'efforts ongoing.' Call it a down payment; settlement comes when the rest clears. Somebody is holding that second tranche, and I want to know what they want for it. And he announces oil and petrochemical sanctions coming off — the same day the IRGC is bragging about hitting U.S. sites? You don't lift sanctions on a counterparty you're shooting at. One of those two messages is for the folks back home. Keep that split, Rich — the asset-and-sanctions track is Pezeshkian; the strikes are a separate claim from a separate part of the same government. Two channels, one capital, one day. This one's from TASS:
"What is undeniable is that we have an MoU. This MoU specifically indicates that the nuclear part of the memorandum will be supervised – this work will be supervised by the IAEA. In order to supervise, we need to inspect. There is no other way. So the technical work has started. And we hope to be there soon," he told journalists at the Japan National Press Club.
Grossi says the IAEA hopes to be inspecting Iranian sites soon. Hopes. The whole point of this MOU is the nuclear file, and the agency that's supposed to verify it is running on a wish. His exact words to the Japan National Press Club: there's an MOU, the nuclear part is supposed to be supervised by the IAEA, the technical work has started, and they hope to be there soon. That's the first thing Grossi's said publicly after weeks of silence on this. And that runs straight into the contradiction: Tehran has said no inspectors into Fordow, Natanz, or Isfahan until a final agreement. Grossi reads the MOU one way; Iran reads it another. In the same week, we've heard $6 billion and oil sanctions confirmed — but inspections are still aspirational. Right — money's moving, sanctions are lifting, and the verification piece is on a sticky note. Grossi even says the highly enriched uranium is probably still where it was in June 2025 — meaning nobody's laid eyes on it since the war started. So what exactly got traded for that $6 billion? He's careful on the stockpile — 'most likely' where it was. He is inferring, not verifying, and he's flagging it that way. An inference. On a uranium stockpile. After both sides spent today striking each other over alleged breaches of this same deal. The money moved; inspectors still haven't. This one's from Al Jazeera:
The IRGC claims its forces destroyed eight US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, saying the attacks were retaliation for the recent US strikes on Iranian facilities. - The Strait of Hormuz remains under total Iranian control for the next 30 days, and any US attacks will only exacerbate the precarious situation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warns.
IRGC says eight U.S. sites in Kuwait and Bahrain — gone. We're talking about strikes in Gulf states hosting American bases. You just dragged Manama and Kuwait City into a war they were trying to stay out of. And that's an IRGC claim, Rich — eight sites, according to Iran's own military, and we don't have U.S. corroboration in front of us. What we can say independently is that the Gulf Cooperation Council secretary-general condemned the strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait. Right, and Araghchi's out the same hour saying Hormuz stays under total Iranian control for thirty days. So which is it — partner with the Gulf on security, or hold their oil lane hostage for a month? Both, apparently, from the same foreign minister. Meanwhile, Axios reports Tehran and Washington resume technical talks in Qatar this week — a permanent end to the war on one track, strikes on Gulf bases on the other. If Iran War Daily helps you stay oriented, take a second to subscribe or leave a review wherever you're listening. It really helps other people find the show and follow the story with us.
What we're watching next: U.S. and Iranian technical teams are expected back in Qatar this week for talks on a permanent end to the war.
We've put links to every story from today's briefing in the show notes, so if one caught your ear, you can read more there. That's Iran War Daily for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.