The US and Iran are expected to sign a preliminary agreement within 24 hours, a Pakistani mediator said
Listen to this article
Average 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations may occur. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
The United States and Iran have agreed on a draft peace agreement after more than three months of war and are expected to sign the first agreement in the next 24 hours, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday.
Sharif, whose country has been mediating in this war, said that Pakistan is preparing to sign electronically which will be followed by technical level talks next week.
The US and Iran signed on Friday that an agreement to end their war is imminent, and a senior US administration official said the two sides had agreed on a text and that Washington expected to sign the first agreement in the coming days.
US President Donald Trump and officials in Tehran suggest a peace deal is close, but nothing has been signed. After several other promising announcements went nowhere, Iranians are still skeptical. CBC News reports from inside Iran.
“We are closer to a peace agreement than ever before. As it is expected to be finalized in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace agreement, followed by technical-level talks next week,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
“We hope that this historic peace agreement will build a strong foundation for lasting peace.”
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday that the possibility of signing the Islamabad memorandum in the coming days would not be ruled out.
Baghaei added that care needs to be taken regarding any comments on the signing day due to the skepticism of the other side. The exact time of the signing of the Islamabad memorandum will not be on Sunday, he said, according to state media.
The war began with a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28. Iran then fired at US military targets in the Gulf, and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon fired at Israel, which led to a renewed conflict between Israel and a group aligned with Iran.
The war has killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and sent global energy prices skyrocketing.
What's in the deal?
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, said on Friday that, although there are still possible changes in the agreement, the agreed agreement shows that his country has already strengthened in this conflict.
“Iran is the winner of the war with the US,” he said on state television on Friday.
Hours after those remarks, the US military shot down several Iranian warplanes in a one-way attack towards the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The source, who did not want to be named, said that these flights are very dangerous for the car trade.
Pro-government protests have been taking place across Iran for the past few weeks. They were supported by the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who issued a statement urging people to leave and keep their place in public places. These protests can be seen as organized efforts to counter the impact of the anti-government protests that took place in January, which were violently suppressed by the security forces.
US Central Command later confirmed the action and said the waterway was open.
The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the blockade of US warships in Iranian ports, sources on all sides of the talks said. Discussions on Iran's nuclear program – the reason given by US President Donald Trump for starting the war – will take place afterwards.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters Friday that the deal met Trump's key goals and put the negotiations “in a very good place.”
The draft terms described to Reuters by multiple sources indicate that the US will begin removing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and ease sanctions on its oil exports, so that Iran can open up the flow.
NS Highway17:53Is Trump lighting up the markets, or are investors benefiting from his talk on Iran?
Iran's nuclear program will be discussed during the 60-day talks. This American official said that this agreement will eventually lead to the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, and the mass of highly enriched uranium will be destroyed and removed.
But Araghchi said Iran, which the sources say does not accept the dismantling of its nuclear program, wants to keep uranium in an enriched form.
The proposals also include talks on possible war reparations for Tehran and the withdrawal of long-standing US demands for restrictions on Iran's missile program, the sources said. A US official disputed that account.
