Preliminary US-Iran peace agreement reached as Friday signing planned

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform around 5:30pm ET local time in Washington (2130 GMT) on Sunday.

His post came shortly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a deal had been struck early on Monday local time.

PM Shehbaz said in a post on X that “following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.

He added that the “official signing ceremony” would be on Friday, June 19, in Switzerland.

“We would like to thank the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to our brothers in this mediation effort, the great leadership of state of Qatar, for their support in reaching this agreement. I would also especially thank the visionary leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkiye for their immense contributions in this regard,” he said.

PM Shehbaz added that with the agreement now in place, mediators would facilitate a series of meetings this week. “These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony,” he said.

In a statement, the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently starting on Monday night.

Lebanon has been a sticking point in negotiations, with Israel ignoring calls from Trump and others to stop its attacks on Lebanon in recent weeks.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in televised comments that the deal put an “immediate end” to the countries’ war and that they would hold talks within two months to seek a “final agreement.” Just hours earlier, Tehran had vowed to retaliate against a strike by Israel in the suburbs of Beirut, which threatened to push back an agreement.

There was no immediate reaction to the announcement of the agreement from Israel, which has said it was not a party to the US-Iran talks

Strait to reopen

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports.

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

Oil prices fell on the news. Brent crude futures fell four per cent in early trading on Monday, while US West Texas Intermediate slid more than 4.6pc. Stock markets in Asia jumped.