Experts Doubt Iran-US Peace Will Materialise After Agreement Finalised

International law expert Hikmahanto Juwana from the University of Indonesia (UI) has expressed scepticism that a peace agreement between Iran and the United States will truly materialise, suggesting the offer of peace claimed by Iran could be unilaterally rejected by US President Donald Trump. “This news likely comes from the Iranian side, which Trump would say is not true. If it were true, it would be very good for Iran,” Hikmahanto said when contacted on Sunday (14/6/2026). He believes no memorandum of understanding has yet been agreed upon by both parties, and that Iran may be playing a ‘card’. “At this point, there is no document agreed upon by both sides. Iran seems to be playing a card like Trump, making a unilateral claim only to have it later denied,” he said. Hikmahanto further stated he could not predict any momentum that might reconcile the two nations, believing the conflict will continue to drag on. “This is difficult to predict. There may be no common ground. So they will continue to wage war,” he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier stated that a proposed memorandum of understanding with the United States would officially end the conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, and lay the foundation for negotiations on sanctions relief, the nuclear programme, and regional security arrangements. Speaking in an interview with state television station IRIB, Araghchi said the document, commonly referred to as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, would mark the official end of the war. “The end of the war will be announced on all fronts, including Lebanon,” he said. Araghchi added that the proposed memorandum includes commitments not to initiate war, threaten the use of force, or interfere in each other’s internal affairs, and that the agreement would also include a mutual commitment to respect sovereignty. “For the first time in 47 years, the United States has explicitly stated that it respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Araghchi said.