LAST UPDATE | 18 hrs ago
PAKISTAN’S PRIME MINISTER Shehbaz Sharif has said the United States and Iran have reached an agreement on the final text of a peace deal.
“We can confirm that a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached and Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalise the next steps,” Sharif posted on X.
Sharif tagged both the US and Iranian presidents and other leaders from both countries in the social media post.
“Peace has never been as close as it is now,” Sharif said.
He also said Pakistan was “fully aware of incessant misinformation campaign being waged by those who want to sabotage the peace deal”.
“Setting aside the noise, we can confirm that a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached and Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalise the next steps,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this evening that the draft deal with the US included ending a naval blockade of Iranian ports and arrangements on managing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“The naval blockade must be completely lifted. That is the first point mentioned in the agreement,” Araghchi said in an interview with state television.
“Iran has made a firm decision that the administration of Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same as before,” he noted, adding that discussions were ongoing with Oman on the matter.
Araghchi added that upon finalisation, the draft deal would be signed “remotely”, which could happen “in the coming days.”
“As soon as the final stages of our negotiations are completed, this agreement will be signed and announced. The signing will initially take place digitally. Each side will sign remotely. After that, it will be announced that this memorandum of understanding has been signed by both parties,” Araghchi said.
“This could happen in the coming days. I am very hopeful.”
After calling off another wave of promised strikes on Iran on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said that a deal would be signed “shortly”.
Israel, which launched the war alongside the US in late February, is not a party to the agreement, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday.
The proposed deal would also include Lebanon, which Israel has been attacking, a senior US official said this afternoon.
“It includes Lebanon, it includes Iran, it includes the Gulf Coast countries, and includes Israel,” the senior administration official told reporters on a call.
With reporting from AFP