U.S. And Iran Have Agreed To Wording Of A Deal To End Their War, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister said Friday that the United States and Iran have agreed on the text of a deal aimed at: end your wars It was stated that mediators in the Middle East were working with both sides to reach an agreement.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran had reached a “final, agreed upon text”. He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, is working with the warring countries on next steps.

“Peace has never been as close as it is now,” Sharif said in a post on X.

Significant breakthrough in negotiations came after Iran mutual fire For three days this week, he threatened to turn the Middle East into all-out war with the United States and Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday in a post about XUS President Donald Trump that the deal has “never been this close.” Trump, who has said many times in recent weeks that countries are on the verge of an agreement, shared Araghchi’s post on his own social media.

The war launched by the USA and Israel on February 28 shook the Middle East and almost stopped oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since April 7.

Araghchi told Iranian state television on Friday that both sides were working to sign the first agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”

Israel has been fighting Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the United States and Iran, and its leaders have stated that they do not plan to withdraw from Lebanon.

Araghchi said that the conditions for Iran’s nuclear program will be completed within 60 days after the initial agreement is signed. He said that the parties could agree to extend this period.

Iran’s nuclear program has been a key point of division. The US and Israel fear this could lead to atomic weapons; This is the main reason their leaders give for going to war. Tehran has insisted that its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

The resulting deal would begin the process of destroying or eliminating Tehran’s highly enriched uranium, a senior U.S. administration official said Friday, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

The official said that the 60-day period after both sides sign the agreement will be to work out technical details for the extraction of Iran’s enriched uranium. The official did not detail who would take responsibility for removing uranium believed to be buried under three nuclear facilities damaged by US strikes last year.

It is also critical for Iran to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and natural gas. The interruption of passage through the Bosphorus restricted global energy supply, increased fuel prices and food and other basic information it is more expensive far beyond the region.

The US official said that the resulting agreement includes provisions regarding the reopening of the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants an agreement that allows Tehran to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz “for services provided.” Iran implemented a toll system during the war that the United States and other countries say violates international law.

“There will be a cost to this, and those costs need to be paid,” Araghchi said.

The resulting deal is also expected to include the gradual lifting of sanctions against Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets, three regional officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.

They said they expect the signing ceremony of the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.

Trump on Thursday claimed to have made significant progress Just hours after threatening to escalate attacks and take over Iran’s oil industry in negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He said Israel was not a party to the negotiated agreement. He said Friday that he and Trump had reached “complete agreement” that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

Israel also expects Trump to protect core Israeli interests, including weakening Iran’s missile program and proxy network, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement.

Katz warned that Israel could still act independently against Iran and that the country would not withdraw from areas it occupies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, or from refugee camps in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Regional officials said the deal was largely brokered by Pakistan, led by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, with support from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar.

Prices reported from Washington and Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press journalists Sahar Ameri in Berlin, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Collin Binkley and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.