SEOUL, June 15 (AJP)-The United States and Iran have agreed to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday, a breakthrough that would close a conflict running since late February and restore a waterway critical to global oil supply.
An official signing is set for Friday in Switzerland. The precise terms were not immediately confirmed, and the agreement has yet to be signed. Iran
Trump declared the deal "complete" on his Truth Social platform shortly after Sharif's announcement, saying he had authorized the toll-free opening of the strait and the immediate removal of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The pact calls for the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, Sharif said.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the Friday signing in Geneva in remarks to state television, matching the timeline set out by Pakistan, a key mediator. He said last-minute negotiations mediated by Qatar ran about 15 hours and that both sides had approved revisions to the text.
Under the draft deal, according to sources cited by Reuters, the U.S. would release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets, while Iran would halt uranium enrichment and any expansion of nuclear facilities until a final agreement is reached over a 60-day period of further talks. The draft would also end the US blockade of Iranian ports and extend a ceasefire.
The agreement was struck despite an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday, which Israel said targeted Hezbollah and which drew criticism from both Iran and Trump.
Iran held the United States responsible for the attack and warned of a "strong response." Iranian negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the strike showed Washington lacked "the will and ability to fulfill" its commitments.
"This morning's attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran," Trump said in a separate post Sunday.
Israel has said it was not party to the planned US-Iran deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has differed with Trump over U.S. demands that Israel curb its military action in Lebanon.
The conflict between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon was reignited by the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in February. The U.S. imposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports on April 13, after talks in Islamabad collapsed, while Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz at the war's outbreak in late February.
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