Pakistan PM says US and Iran reach peace deal after talks

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DUBAI/WASHINGTON - The United States and Iran have reached a deal to end their war and will hold an official signing ceremony on June 19 in Switzerland, US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz ​Sharif said on social media early on June 15.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform around 5:30pm local time in Washington on June 14, shortly after Sharif announced the agreement early on June 15 local time in Pakistan, which has served as a mediator.

The precise terms of the deal were not immediately known. Sharif said in a post on X that the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would be open “toll free” and that a US naval blockade of Iran ports would also end.

“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump wrote.

The deal will be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland, Sharif wrote.

Multiple sources previously told Reuters that the draft deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the US blockade of Iranian ports and extend a ceasefire, while leaving Iran’s nuclear programme to be addressed during a 60-day period of additional talks.

Thousands of people have been killed, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, since US and Israeli forces first attacked Iran on Feb 28. Iran has struck Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases and has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up global energy prices. US forces have blocked Iranian ports in response.

Israel has said it was not party to the planned US-Iran deal.

The Iran war has become a political liability at home for Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress, with public opinion polls showing Americans deeply frustrated by rising gas prices ahead of November’s mid-term elections in which control of Congress will be decided.

The agreement was struck despite an Israeli strike on Lebanon on June 14 that drew criticism from both Iran and Trump.

Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Israel’s latest attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which Israel said targeted Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants, showed the United States lacks “the will and ability to fulfill your commitments” in a post on X.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it held the United States responsible for the attack. Iran warned of a “strong response”, and its top joint military command said the “finger (is) on the trigger” ready to fire at the “enemy’s heart”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on June 14, Trump said: “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.”

Fox News quoted an unidentified diplomat involved in the talks as saying the Israeli strikes complicated efforts to finalize the US-Iran deal, and calling them an attempt to sabotage those efforts.

Israel did not respond to the assertion. Israel has said it will retain freedom of operations in Lebanon, while Iran has made a full ceasefire there an important component of its demands.

Trump updated Netanyahu on the progress toward a peace deal during a phone call on Sunday, Israel’s N12 reported, citing a senior official.

A senior Iranian official earlier told Reuters that, under the terms of the draft deal, the United States would agree to release US$25 billion of frozen Iranian assets, while Iran would agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.

The official said Iran agreed to maintain the nuclear status quo, including no uranium enrichment or expanding nuclear facilities, until a final deal is reached.

A US official, speaking before the deal was announced, said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed.

A senior Iranian official said the draft deal would allow Iran, which denies seeking a nuclear bomb, to dilute its enriched uranium inside the country.

Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on the morning of June 14 as part of efforts to finalise the agreement, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

At pro-government rallies across Iran on the night of June 13, residents and news agencies reported that hardliners opposed to the framework agreement loudly voiced their dissatisfaction.

A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters that some protesters chanted “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. REUTERS