A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran to stop the war in the Gulf could be signed as soon as Sunday, with Geneva emerging as the likeliest venue, a Western source was quoted as saying by The Economic Times. The reports of a possible deal come after US President Donald Trump called off threatened strikes on Thursday and as both sides indicated progress in talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that an agreement “has never been closer”, while Trump shared the post on his own social media. Iran’s Mehr news agency said final negotiations on an MoU with the US would focus on nuclear and economic issues and exclude Iran’s missile programme, while IRNA said nuclear talks would take place within 60 days of the signing.

Moreover, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran had agreed on the text of a peace deal. “Amid ongoing intense mediation efforts by Pakistan, we are fully aware of an incessant misinformation campaign being waged by those who want to sabotage the peace deal,” he said in a social media post on Friday.

He added, “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.”

Sharif also said that “peace has never been this close as it is now”. There was no immediate reaction from the White House or Iranian authorities to his assertion. US Vice President J D Vance said there was “a lot of fake information” circulating about a possible deal and added that Iran would receive economic benefits only if it fulfilled its obligations.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell more than 3% on Saturday to their lowest in nearly two months after Trump cancelled new strikes on Iran, easing fears of a wider escalation after tit-for-tat attacks earlier in the week. Brent futures fell $3.05, or 3.37%, to $87.33 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $2.83, or 3.23%, to $84,88 at the time of writing this story.

Iran had announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday and said it would fire on any ship trying to pass through the waterway. The Strait normally carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. The US military, however, said on Friday that commercial ships continued to transit through the strait.

Published on: Jun 13, 2026 11:57 AM IST