Pakistan’s prime minister said the United States and Iran have 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 finalise a deal.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran have reached a “final, agreed-upon text”. He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, was working with the warring countries on next steps.
“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” Sharif said in a post on X.
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.
There was no immediate comment from US or Iranian leaders on Sharif’s statement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday (local time) an agreement “has never been closer” in a post on X. US President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times in recent weeks that the countries were on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi's post on his own social media.
None of the leaders gave details about the emerging agreement.
The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has rattled the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.
Official says emerging deal would reopen strait, remove nuclear material
The US and Iran were making progress Friday (local time) toward completing a deal that could effectively end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium, according to a senior US administration official.
The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said a deal was 80% to 85% done and that the US side believes “most of the people who have authority” in the Iranian government want to sign onto the deal “but not everybody”.
The official said technical details on how to remove Iran’s enriched uranium, according to the emerging agreement, would be worked out over 60 days after both sides sign it. The official did not detail who the US envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to be embedded under three nuclear sites that were battered by US strikes last year.
Three regional officials said the emerging deal is also expected to include the 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.
Underscoring the fragility of the negotiations, Trump on Friday lashed out at Iranian officials on social media and said: “They better get their act together, and FAST!” That was before he shared Araghchi's post.
Officials say a deal could be signed in the coming days
Iran's nuclear program 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.
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 has responded since mid-April with a naval blockade of Iranian ports to choke off Iran’s own oil exports.
The regional officials said they expect a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.
Trump on Friday claimed significant progress in the negotiations, just hours after he threatened to escalate attacks and seize Iran’s oil industry. Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on state television that mediators were active and the text of a deal was “mostly finalised”.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, which has been leading efforts to mediate a deal between the US and Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had said Thursday that Pakistan remained involved in negotiations.
Israel expects Trump to advocate for its interests
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is not a party to the deal being negotiated. He said in a statement that he and Trump were in “full agreement” that Iran must not have nuclear weapons.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that Israel also expects Trump to uphold key Israeli interests, including weakening Iran's missile program and proxy network.
Katz warned that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting in Lebanon between its ally, the Hezbollah militia, and Israel. Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing his goal of destroying the militant group, complicating negotiations between Iran and the US.
The deal was largely being brokered by Pakistan, led by its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the regional officials said, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar.
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