Pakistan PM says US-Iran peace deal signing expected within 24 hours

A possible diplomatic breakthrough is taking shape in the Middle East, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the United States and Iran have agreed on a framework for peace and finalized the text of a deal meant to end months of conflict.

Pakistan is now preparing for an electronic signing expected within the next 24 hours, followed by technical-level talks next week, Mr Sharif said.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the agreement could still change at the margins, but argued the emerging deal showed Iran had come out of the conflict in a stronger position.

“Iran is the winner of the war with the US,” he said on state television.

A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the drones were seen as a threat to commercial shipping.

US Central Command later confirmed the operation and said the waterway had been cleared for transit.

Iranian news agencies reported explosions near the strait around Iran’s Sirik port and Qeshm island, where residents and local officials said Iranian forces had fired warning shots at vessels trying to pass without permission from the Revolutionary Guards’ navy.

Under the proposed memorandum of understanding, the strait would reopen and the US naval blockade on Iranian ports would be lifted, according to sources involved in the talks on all sides.

Abbas Araghchi said Iran would keep authority over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

Talks over Iran’s nuclear programme – the justification US President Donald Trump has given for launching the war – would follow afterward.

A US official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters the agreement fulfilled Mr Trump’s central goals and left the negotiations “in a very, very good place.”

Descriptions of the draft from Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources suggested terms that could tilt in Iran’s favour, prompting criticism from Mr Trump, who rejected those accounts as inaccurate.

Though some details differed, the broad outline appeared to hand Tehran much of what it has long wanted, while Mr Trump seemed poised to secure little beyond the reopening of the strait, which Iran shut after US and Israeli strikes in February.

Mr Araqchi said Iran, working alongside Oman, would maintain control of traffic through the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.

“Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

One Western source said the agreement could be signed as soon as tomorrow by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, with Geneva viewed as the most likely location.

The US administration official said Europe had been discussed as a possible venue, but no final decision had been taken.

Mr Araqchi said the agreement would be signed remotely before being announced publicly.

What the deal contains

According to draft terms described to Reuters by multiple sources, the US would start releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil exports in exchange for Tehran reopening the strait.

Iran’s nuclear programme would then be taken up during a 60-day negotiating period.

The US official said the agreement would eventually result in the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium destroyed and removed.

The draft also sets out an inspection regime meant to ensure long-term compliance.

People in Tehran gather in support of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

But Mr Araqchi told state television that Iran – which sources say has not accepted dismantling its nuclear programme – wants to keep the uranium in diluted form.

“For Tehran, the only preferred solution for its highly enriched uranium stockpile is down-blending the material,” he said.

The proposals also include discussion of possible war reparations for Tehran and the removal of longstanding US demands for limits on Iran’s missile programme, the sources said. The US official challenged that version of events.

“None of their money released until they perform. Strait of Hormuz will be open. No Iran funding of terrorist groups,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This is what they have agreed to. This is a performance-based deal.”

Israel excluded from memorandum

Israel has played no part in the negotiations, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would not be party to the agreement.

Mr Netanyahu has clashed with Mr Trump in recent weeks over US pressure on Israel to scale back military action in Lebanon so Washington could pursue a deal with Tehran.

Mr Araqchi said the agreement would bring the war in Lebanon to an end, suggesting Israel would withdraw from occupied areas.

Israel’s defence minister said no withdrawal would take place. A senior Israeli official said Israel expects to preserve its freedom to act against threats.

Momentum toward a deal surfaced at the end of a week marked by a sharp rise in Gulf hostilities, including exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran, US strikes on Iranian targets, and retaliatory attacks on US bases.

News of the breakthrough lifted global stock markets and pushed oil prices lower.

Brent crude fell by more than 3% at its lowest point in nearly two months.

Iran has shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

The conflict has become a growing political problem for the White House as fuel prices rise and Mr Trump’s approval ratings weaken.

Some Republicans fear the war’s unpopularity could cost the party control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

At the same time, many of Mr Trump’s Republican allies may find it difficult to support an agreement seen as overly favourable to Iran.

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