Pakistan Welcomes Role in Brokering US-Iran Peace

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday, 18 June, an agreement reached by the United States and Iran to end their war. Pakistan served as the principal mediator between the two nations after facilitating a ceasefire on 8 April and hosting high-level negotiations on 12-13 April. The Islamabad meeting represented the first high-level contact between the US and Iran since the two countries severed diplomatic relations in 1979. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif signed the MoU in his capacity as mediator. Prime Minister Sharif signed the document after President Donald Trump of the United States and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran had already signed it electronically on Wednesday evening, 17 June. On Thursday morning, Sharif announced that the historic Islamabad MoU between the US and Iran would take effect immediately upon signing. In a statement posted on social media platform X, Sharif said the memorandum of understanding had been signed electronically by the presidents of the United States and Iran, and endorsed by Pakistan in its role as mediator. Under the terms of the memorandum, Sharif stated that Iran would promptly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which holds immense strategic value for global trade, while the United States would lift its naval blockade. Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the US and Israel initiated the war on 28 February. Subsequently, on 13 April, US forces blockaded Iranian ports, severely impeding commercial shipping traffic through the vital waterway. The United States explained that the MoU includes several key points, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s commitments regarding its nuclear programme. The plan emerged as global markets awaited the full reopening of the strait following the temporary peace agreement between Iran and the US. Three oil tankers carrying Iranian crude were reported to have successfully exited the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz region on Tuesday, 16 June. A senior US official stated that the agreement would allow Iran to resume selling its oil as soon as the document was formally signed.