The Pakistani government official, the main mediator of the negotiations, also confirmed that a ceremony will take place on Friday in Switzerland “to commemorate this landmark event and begin technical discussions”
The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened “instantly” and the US blockade of Iranian ports will end “immediately”, as a result of the signing of the memorandum of understanding by Washington and Tehran, the Pakistani prime minister confirmed this Thursday.
The protocol “will come into force with immediate effect and, in the first phase, the Islamic Republic of Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz without delay and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade”, wrote Shehbaz Sharif, on the social network X.
The Pakistani government, the main mediator of the negotiations, also confirmed that a ceremony will be held on Friday in Switzerland “to commemorate this landmark event and begin technical discussions”, although Iranian and North American sources have suggested that the meeting has become irrelevant.
Sharif’s publication came shortly after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced the signing of the memorandum in Versailles, following a dinner hosted by his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
Opening the memorandum of understanding to end the war in the Middle East, the United States and Iran, released by both Washington and Tehran, the parties and their respective allies “declare the immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
They further commit “not to initiate wars or military operations and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, while guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.”
Iran and the United States “commit to negotiating and concluding the final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual agreement.”
The United States agrees to begin “immediately” to lift the blockade on Iranian ports, which will be complete within 30 days, and also undertakes “to withdraw its forces from the vicinity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, within 30 days, after the final agreement”.
In return, Iran undertakes to “guarantee the safe passage of commercial ships, free of charge, for just 60 days, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa. Commercial ship traffic will begin immediately” and will be fully reestablished within 30 days, as soon as the Strait of Hormuz is cleared of mines.
The United States and its regional partners will develop a plan “worth at least 300 billion dollars (260.4 billion euros) aimed at the reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.
They also commit “to put an end to all types of sanctions”, unilateral and international, against Iran, according to a schedule to be defined in the final agreement, as well as “to make fully available and usable the funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran frozen or subject to restrictions, upon the entry into force of this protocol of agreement”.
Also immediately and until sanctions are lifted, the United States Treasury Department will grant “derogations for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, as well as for all associated services, including banking transactions, insurance, transportation, etc.”.
In the nuclear field, Iran reaffirms that it “will not acquire or develop nuclear weapons”, and the fate of enriched uranium will be resolved “according to a mutually agreed mechanism”. The issue of enrichment related to Iran’s civilian nuclear needs will be discussed “based on a satisfactory framework to be defined in the final agreement.”
Pending the final agreement, Iran “will maintain the current ‘status quo’ of its nuclear program”, and the United States “will not impose any new sanctions or deploy additional forces in the region”.
According to Shehbaz Sharif, the agreement was signed electronically and remotely on Thursday, Islamabad time, by Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and American President Donald Trump.
The final agreement will be subject to ratification by a binding UN Security Council resolution.
