According to a White House statement, the United States and Iran are nearing a final agreement on a new nuclear deal, with two specific factors giving Washington confidence that Tehran will comply.. The deal, which has not yet been signed by US President Joe Biden or Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, outlines five broad points,with detailed negotiations scheduled over the next 60 days.

The White House's two-pronged leverage: falling oil exports and agreed language

The White House cited a decline in Iranian oil exports as a key source of leverage, according to the report. Combined with the language the US sought on shuttering Iran's nuclear weapons program, Washington believes it has secured a framework that Tehran is unlikely to abandon. The two factors form the core of the US negotiating position.

This marks a shift from previous talks, where trust was a central issue. As the source reports, the US structured the deal around physical milestones, action, and verification rather than relying on diplomatic goodwill.

Five broad points, 60 days of specifics

The agreement-in-principle contains five broad points,with the precise terms left for 60 days of negotiation. That timeline places a hard deadline on resolving details such as the pace of sanctions relief and the scope of international inspections.

Both sides have incentive to meet the schedule: Iran faces continued economic pressure, while the US wants to lock in constraints on Tehran's nuclear program before any political shifts in either country.

The 'show-me' clause: no economic benefits until Iran proves compliance

A critical element of the reported deal is that Iran will not receive any economic remuneration until it demonstrates a commitment to upholding the pact in perpetuity . The White House emphasized that the agreement is structured around physical milestones,action, and verification rather than trust,as the source notes. This means Iran must dismantle key nuclear infrastructure and allow inspections before seeing any relief from sanctions.

This approach echoes past nuclear frameworks but with a stricter verification regime. The question is whether the Supreme Leader will accept such a one-sided phasing.

Two unanswered questions:who signs first and can the deadlines hold?

The report leaves open two crucial points. First, whether President Biden or Supreme Leader Khamenei will give final approval first, a political sequence that could affect domestic reactions in both countries. Second, the 60-day negotiation period is ambitious; past US-Iran talks have collapsed when technical teams missed deadlines.. The source does not speicfy what happens if the 60 days expire without agreement.

Also unaddressed is Iran's position on regional missile programs and proxy forces — issues that were not part of this nuclear track but remain central to broader tensions in the Middle East.