of Pakistan said on Friday the Prime Minister of the United States and Iran agreed to the wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East, and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize the deal.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran had reached a “final agreed 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 closer than it is now,” Sharif said in a post on X.
The apparent breakthrough in the talks came after Iran exchanged fire with the US and Israel for three days this week, threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that a deal had “never been closer” in a message to XUS President Donald Trump. who has said several times in recent weeks that the countries are on the verge of a dealshared Aragcha’s post on his social media.
The war, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, shook the Middle East and practically stopped the supply of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since April 7.
An Iranian official says the nuclear details will come after an agreement to end the war
Oraghchi told Iranian state television on Friday that the two sides were working to sign an initial agreement to end the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”
Israel has been fighting the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the US-Iran talks, and its leaders have said they have no plans to withdraw from Lebanon.
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Oraghchi said the terms regarding Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized 60 days after the initial agreement was signed.
He said that the parties can agree on an extension of this period.
Iran’s nuclear program was a key point of division. The US and Israel fear that this could lead to the creation of nuclear weapons, which is the main reason their leaders cited for starting the war. Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.
A senior US administration official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity in line with ground rules set by the White House, said on Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing highly enriched uranium in Tehran.
The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the agreement will be used to work out the technical details of removing Iran’s enriched uranium. The official did not specify who the U.S. believes will be responsible for removing the uranium believed to be under three nuclear sites hit by U.S. strikes last year.
Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and natural gas. The disruption to cross-strait transit has limited global energy supplies, increased fuel prices and made food and other staples more expensive far beyond the region’s borders.
A U.S. official said the new agreement includes provisions to restore the strait.
Oraghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran imposed a levy system during the war that the US and other countries believe violates international law.
“There will be costs involved,” Aragchi said, “and those costs must be paid.”
Officials say the agreement could be signed in the coming days
Three regional officials said the new deal would also include a phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
They said they expected a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approved it.
On Thursday, Trump announced significant progress in the talks, just hours after he threatened to escalate attacks and seize Iran’s oil industry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is not a party to the ongoing deal. In a statement on Friday, he said he and Trump “totally agree” that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that Israel also expects Trump to stand up for key Israeli interests, including weakening Iran’s missile program and proxy network.
Katz warned that Israel could still act independently on Iran and that the country would not withdraw from the occupied zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Regional officials said the deal was largely brokered by Pakistan, led by its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, with the support of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar.
Price reports from Washington, D.C., and Byne reports from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press reporters Sahar Ameri in Berlin, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Colin Binkley and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
