President Donald Trump declared Sunday that a comprehensive agreement with Iran has been finalized, marking a potential end to months of escalating military confrontation in the Middle East. The announcement came alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who confirmed the breakthrough in nearly identical terms on social media.
Trump's statement was characteristically expansive. "The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," he said, adding that he was "fully authorizing the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz" and ordering "the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade." He concluded with a flourish: "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!"
Sharif echoed the announcement minutes later, declaring that "intensive talks" had produced a peace deal and that "both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon." A formal signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, according to Sharif.
The Strait of Hormuz has been a critical flashpoint in negotiations. The waterway handles roughly one-fifth of the world's oil trade, and Iran's decision to close it triggered a chain of escalations that threatened global energy markets. The U.S. responded by imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Iran briefly reopened the strait last month, offering temporary relief to oil-dependent Gulf states, but sealed it again after the American blockade took effect.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, confirmed that a memorandum of understanding has been completed. According to Iranian state media, he stated that the U.S. naval blockade would end Sunday night and that military operations would cease immediately and permanently across all fronts, specifically naming Lebanon.
The conflict that led to these negotiations erupted in late February when the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The war quickly engulfed the broader region. A ceasefire was negotiated in April to allow diplomatic talks to proceed, though sporadic military strikes continued as negotiators remained deadlocked over key issues, particularly control of the Strait of Hormuz and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
The agreement's exact terms remain opaque. Neither the White House nor the negotiating parties have released detailed specifications of what each side has committed to or conceded. Sharif referenced "pre-implementation discussions" to occur before the deal takes full effect, but provided no explanation of what those discussions would address.
Trump and Iranian officials had offered conflicting accounts of the draft deal's provisions during negotiations, with particular friction over whether Iran's billions in frozen international assets would be returned. Trump has not clarified whether he will sign the agreement electronically or whether Vice President JD Vance will attend the Switzerland ceremony in person, though Pakistani officials indicated electronic signing was being prepared.
The war has extracted a severe human toll across the region. More than 3,600 people have been killed in Iran, including over 1,700 civilians, according to documentation by the U.S.-based rights organization HRANA. Lebanon has reported more than 3,700 deaths. The toll extends to Gulf states with 36 dead, Israel with 20, and the United States with 13 service members killed in combat and two additional deaths from noncombat causes.
The Lebanese government and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that has been a primary target of Israeli operations, have made no public statement regarding the agreement. On Sunday, Israel claimed its military struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut's southern suburbs in response to an earlier attack on Israeli territory. Lebanon's Civil Defense Ministry reported three fatalities from those strikes.
During his first term, Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama-era nuclear accord with Iran. His administration has indicated that preventing Iranian nuclear weapons development would remain central to any new arrangement. The Trump administration has not yet released specific details on how the current agreement addresses nuclear proliferation concerns.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This deal appears genuine, but the devil will be in Friday's fine print, and nothing is truly done until both sides sign and begin honoring their commitments."
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