Iran to Immediately Reopen Strait of Hormuz as US Lifts Blockade
The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war has been completed. The signing means Tehran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz “immediately” and the American blockade of Iranian ports will end “immediately.”
This was conveyed by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday (18/6), whose officials acted as mediators during the peace negotiations between Iran and the US.
“The memorandum will take effect immediately and as a first step, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States will immediately lift the naval blockade,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X, as reported by AFP and Al Arabiya on Thursday (18/6/2026).
He also confirmed that Pakistan, with support from Qatar, will host a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday (19/6) to “commemorate this momentous event and initiate technical-level talks.”
It is understood that US President Donald Trump signed the Iran-US MoU during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles following the G7 summit on Wednesday (17/6) evening local time.
“Just signed it,” Trump said as he left the palace, according to AFP on Thursday (18/6/2026).
Separately, the Iranian government also confirmed it had signed the document to end the war with the US.
“The text of the Islamabad Memorandum has been finalised with the signatures of the presidents—now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, as quoted by the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
He said the signing was carried out electronically and remotely by both presidents, and that a formal ceremony “does not have much place” in Iran’s plans.
“When the text is signed by the highest officials of both countries, violating it would certainly incur greater costs, and given our experience, we prefer it this way,” Baqaei stressed.
The Swiss government had previously stated that a signing ceremony would be held on Friday (19/6) at a luxury mountain hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance in attendance.