Pakistan's prime minister declared on Friday that the United States and Iran have reached an agreement on a peace framework to end their conflict, which has lasted more than 100 days. Pakistan has been leading mediation efforts between the two countries to halt hostilities in the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement came after President Donald Trump stated that the two nations were on the verge of signing a peace agreement and cancelled planned missile strikes on Iran. However, Iranian officials quickly challenged Trump's characterization of the deal's status, creating conflicting narratives about whether a final agreement had actually been reached.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that "exchanges of messages are continuing, but no final agreement has been reached yet." The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Trump's announcement was "in line with his usual pattern of making unilateral and egotistical statements."
Trump outlined his conditions for the deal on his Truth Social platform, stating that Iran "must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb." He also listed opening the Strait of Hormuz for all traffic without tolls, eliminating mines in the waterway, and allowing the United States to remove and destroy highly enriched uranium from a secure nuclear site in Iran. The deal would also block the transfer of frozen assets to Iran, according to Trump.
Vice President JD Vance pushed back against details that Iranian officials had leaked about the proposed agreement, insisting that Iran would not receive any cash under its terms. The Trump administration dismissed information that Tehran had released about the possible memorandum of understanding.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi struck a more optimistic tone, stating that an agreement to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program has "never been closer to completion." His remarks represented the most hopeful assessment yet from Tehran about finalizing a deal in the coming days.
Iran's top negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf sent a defiant message, stating that "we seize concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles." He also warned that Iran was ready for another round of fighting if talks to extend the ceasefire failed.
The proposed framework addresses multiple aspects of the conflict between the two nations. Beyond ending immediate hostilities, the agreement would tackle access through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil shipments. Discussions on Iran's nuclear program indicate the diplomatic effort extends beyond the military confrontation to address longer-term security concerns that have defined US-Iran relations for decades.
A meeting in Washington between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar ended without public comment on the negotiations.