The United States and Iran have electronically signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to end their nearly four-month war, with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announcing the breakthrough and endorsing the agreement as mediator.
In a post on X, Sharif said: “I am honoured to announce that the historic ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ has been electronically signed today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Memorandum has been signed by honourable Presidents of both the countries and also endorsed by me as the mediator.”
The MoU enters into force with immediate effect. As a first step, Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which approximately 20 per cent of the world’s oil supplies flow while the United States will immediately lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports.
President Trump signed the agreement at the Palace of Versailles in France, where he was concluding his G7 trip.
The United States then transmitted a copy of the signed document to Iran, following which Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian appended his own signature, a U.S. official said.
The Islamabad Memorandum also includes a $300bn fund for Iran in addition to the release of frozen Iranian assets and sanctions relief.
However, major issues including Iran’s nuclear programme, uranium stockpiles and its network of non-state allies in the Middle East were not resolved in the framework agreement and have been deferred to future talks during a 60-day ceasefire extension.
The agreement will trigger an immediate 60-day period of intensive technical talks to resolve the most volatile outstanding issues, primarily the dismantling of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles and future nuclear monitoring arrangements.
Pakistan, with Qatar serving as co-mediator, will host the official signing ceremony on 19 June in Switzerland to commemorate the agreement and commence technical-level talks.
Sharif praised President Trump for his “steadfast commitment to diplomacy and preference for peaceful resolution,” and commended the U.S. negotiating team including Vice President J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
He also extended appreciation to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian for their “wisdom, foresight and statesmanship in embracing the cause of peace,” and recognised Iranian negotiators Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi and Eskandar Momeni.
Sharif additionally acknowledged the contributions of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt, and made special mention of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, whose role he described as “critical in facilitating this breakthrough.”
The war began on 28 February when the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran that killed several of the country’s top leadership.
A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan and Qatar had been in place since April but remained fragile, with both sides trading strikes in recent weeks before today’s formal agreement.
(The Whistler)