Islamabad, June 13: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said a US-Iran peace deal could be finalised within the next 24 hours, raising hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough after months of conflict and negotiations.
“We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week,” Sharif said in a post on X.
He thanked the United States and Iran for their “ongoing commitment” during the negotiations and expressed appreciation for support from countries in the region.
“We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace,” he said in the post in which he tagged US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
There was no immediate confirmation from the White House or Iranian authorities regarding Sharif’s latest assertion on the timing of the agreement.
Sharif’s remarks came a day after he said the US and Iran had agreed on the text of a peace deal and that Pakistan was working closely with both sides to finalise the next steps.
Earlier, Araghchi had suggested progress in the negotiations, saying the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer”.
The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the US and Israel over three days this week, threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war.
Nuclear details will follow an agreement to end war: Iran
Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
Israel has been fighting the Iranian-allied militia Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, and its leaders have said they don’t plan to withdraw from Lebanon.
Araghchi said terms dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed. He said the parties could agree to extend that period.
Iran’s nuclear programme has been a key point of division. The US and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon – a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.
A senior US administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.
The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing Iran’s enriched uranium.
The official did not detail who the US envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to entombed under three nuclear sites that were battered by US strikes last year.
Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas.
Disruption of transit through the strait has crimped global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.
The US official said the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the strait.
Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed a toll system during the war, which the US and other nations say violates international law.
Funeral for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei set for July
Iran’s state-run news agency said on Saturday funeral processions for its former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be held in July, as mediators say an agreement to end the war is close.
The funeral, burial, and farewell ceremonies for Khamenei would take place between July 4 and 9, Iran’s state-run television, IRIB, reported.
Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of the war that Israel and the United States launched against Iran in late February. He has since been replaced by his son, Mojtaba, who is seen as even less compromising.
Funeral ceremonies for Khamenei are expected to begin in Tehran, and the procession will move to Qom, a stronghold of many senior Shiite clerics, and then to Mashhad, his birthplace, where he’ll be buried at the Imam Reza Shrine, considered the holiest place among Shiite devotees. Funerals for Khamenei’s daughter and son-in-law, killed in the February strike, will also be held on the same day.
Khamenei dramatically remoulded the Islamic Republic since he took the reins after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. (Agencies)
