THE memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Iran and the United States has survived its first turbulent days, establishing a roadmap toward a possible long-term resolution of the conflict launched by the US and Israel nearly four months ago.
News Point Nigeria reports that although the agreement has endured its initial challenges, months of difficult political and technical negotiations still lie ahead, with many Iranians closely monitoring developments while remaining cautious about what the deal could ultimately deliver.
For many citizens, the shift from conflict to diplomacy is welcome, even if daily economic realities remain difficult.
“We got from daily bombing to talking about buying corn from the US,” Ehsan, a resident of central Tehran, told Al Jazeera.
“So, that’s a good change, but our quality of life is still getting worse by the day,” he added.
His comments followed reports that Iran would be allowed to purchase humanitarian goods, including food and medicine, using some of its frozen assets abroad that are expected to be released under the terms of the agreement.
Iran’s Central Bank Governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said in a video message on Tuesday that Tehran could purchase corn, wheat and other agricultural products from the United States if the quality and pricing were acceptable, although the agreement itself does not require Iran to buy such goods.
As part of the MoU, the US Treasury also issued a general licence authorising the production, delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and petroleum products through August 21. Payments for these purchases can be made in US dollar-denominated funds.
The development is expected to ease some of the restrictions that previously forced Iran to rely on discounted oil sales, indirect shipping routes, and complex barter arrangements.
Iran has already exported millions of barrels of oil loaded onto supertankers in recent days, a move that could inject additional revenue into the country’s economy.
However, analysts note that any economic gains are unlikely to be felt immediately by ordinary Iranians, who continue to grapple with some of the highest inflation rates globally, particularly for food and medicine.
The Iranian rial had strengthened to about 1.53 million against the US dollar by mid-June after falling to approximately 1.9 million in early May. By Wednesday, the exchange rate in Tehran’s open market stood at around 1.64 million rials to the dollar.
Iranian authorities also reported that portions of the country’s traditional maritime trade had resumed through southern ports, especially involving essential goods previously stranded in ports in the United Arab Emirates.
Despite this progress, the broader UAE market, a key hub through which many goods are re-exported to Iran, has not yet fully reopened to Iranian traders following the conflict.
A merchant operating in Tehran’s Jomhouri business district expressed cautious optimism about the agreement.
“I hope they reach a real agreement this time that can let us have a normal life and business,” he told Al Jazeera.
The trader, who sells imported electric toothbrushes, hairdryers and other personal care products, explained that his business had survived by routing shipments through the UAE and bringing goods into Iran via passengers travelling from Oman.
“Over the past few months, we’ve kept the work going by registering new orders in the UAE and having them brought over by passengers coming in from Oman. But that’s not sustainable for a business,” he said.
Economic concerns were compounded by widespread disruptions to Iran’s banking system in recent days.
On Tuesday, many card-based banking services became unavailable following what authorities described as a major cyberattack. The outage forced many consumers to rely on cash transactions at petrol stations and grocery stores.
Numerous users reported difficulties, including employers struggling to process salary payments and borrowers unable to meet debt obligations on schedule.
Officials said most of the technical issues had been resolved by Wednesday.
The disruption sparked speculation among some Iranians that Israel may have been responsible for the cyberattacks, particularly given previous allegations of similar operations.