ensures that The US president confirmed this Wednesday that he has signed the memorandum of understanding negotiated for months by Pakistan and supported by several Middle Eastern countries, a document that ends hostilities and immediately activates a new phase of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
“It is signed (…) I signed it in Versailles”Trump responded to reporters when asked about the agreement during his visit to France.
Shortly after, his advisor Dan Scavino posted a video on social media in which the president can be seen signing the document alongside the French president, who applauds after the signing. According to the American version, the text was later sent to Tehran to complete the process.
Trump’s confirmation came just hours after Pakistan’s Prime Minister, , officially announce that the so-called Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding had been signed electronically by the presidents of both countries and was coming into force immediately.
“I am honored to announce that the historic Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has been signed electronically today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran”Sharif wrote on the social network X.
The formal end of a war of more than three months
The document, made up of 14 points and the result of months of diplomatic mediation led by Pakistan with the support of Qatar and other countries in the region, formally ends after the American and Israeli offensive against the Islamic Republic.
Among its main provisions is the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”including the Lebanese scene, one of the most delicate sources of tension in recent months.
The signing also represents the first formal agreement between Washington and Tehran since the breakdown of the 2015 nuclear pact, becoming one of the most important diplomatic rapprochements between both countries in more than a decade.
Hormuz reopens
The first practical consequence of the agreement will be the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most strategic maritime routes on the planet and through which an essential part of the world’s oil circulates.
As Sharif explained, Iran will now guarantee free navigation through the maritime passage, while the United States will begin to lift restrictions imposed on Iranian maritime traffic.
The text states that Washington will have a period of 30 days to complete the lifting of the naval blockade over the ports of the Islamic Republic.
The normalization of traffic in Hormuz has been one of the main priorities of the negotiations due to the impact that the conflict has had on international energy markets.
Now the most difficult negotiation begins
Although the agreement has now entered into force, the most sensitive issues remain pending.
The United States and Iran now have a period of 60 days to negotiate a definitive pact that addresses issues such as the Iranian nuclear program, the complete lifting of economic sanctions and the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad.
Pakistan has also announced an official ceremony to commemorate the agreement and begin technical conversations that will develop the mechanisms for implementing the memorandum.
Sharif took advantage of his announcement to thank the involvement of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, in addition to highlighting the role played by the head of the Pakistani Army, Asim Munir, in the efforts that allowed dialogue between Washington and Tehran to remain open during the most tense moments of the conflict.
The signing of the memorandum represents a historic turn after more than one hundred days of waralthough the coming weeks will be decisive to verify if the understanding reached is capable of transforming into a stable and lasting peace between two countries marked for decades of confrontation and mutual distrust.
