US, Iran said weighing second electronic signing of MOU today rather than in-person ceremony Friday

Washington, Tehran, and mediators are considering holding an electronic signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding as early as today, rather than at an in-person signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, a diplomat from one of the mediating countries and a second source familiar with the discussions tell the Axios news site.

Both sides are seeking to bring the signing up to have the Strait of Hormuz reopened sooner, the diplomatic source says.

Axios notes that a likely reason for the move is so the US is able to release the text of the agreement amid political pressure over its reported details, though the second source denies that that is Washington’s reasoning.

Although a senior administration official told reporters earlier this week that the deal was already signed electronically on Sunday by US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, one of the diplomatic sources claims that no such signing took place.

A second source disputes this, telling Axios that it would be a “second signing.”

The outlet notes that it is unclear why two digital signings would be necessary.

Even if the ceremony is cancelled in favor of a remote signing, the sources tell Axios that the planned meeting between the US and Iranian delegations headed by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf will take place in Switzerland on Friday as expected.