A preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war could be signed on Sunday. If all goes well, officials from both countries will sign it electronically, US President Donald Trump said after Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday. However, Tehran said the agreement could be signed in a few days, not Sunday.
Expressing hope that the entire process will be completed quickly, easily and smoothly, Trump wrote on his own social media outlet Truth Social on Saturday, “The agreement is scheduled to be signed tomorrow (today). Once the agreement is signed, the Strait of Hormuz will be open to everyone.”
Earlier on Saturday, around 11 am, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz wrote in a post on social media X, “We are now closer to a peace agreement than ever before. The agreement may be finalized within the next 24 hours. After that, the peace agreement will be signed electronically. Pakistan is preparing for this. Technical-level discussions will take place next week.”
Stating that the exact time for signing must be awaited, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai told reporters on Saturday that the signing of the agreement could take place in the next few days, not tomorrow (today).
But at such a moment, the United States claimed to have destroyed multiple Iranian drones in the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday morning. Iran’s response to this was not immediately known.
Optimism on all sides
Officials from the United States, Iran and mediating Pakistan have been expressing optimism about a deal since Friday, suggesting it could be reached within days. Such optimism has not been seen in the three months since the war began.
“The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding is now closer than ever before,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in Exxon on Friday. He later urged the country’s state media to be cautious, saying that until there is a full agreement on all issues, it cannot be said with certainty that any agreement has been reached. He also said that the agreement will be signed “remotely” (electronically).
However, a Western official told Reuters on the same day that the US-Iran deal could be signed in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday. US President Donald Trump also hinted at such a move.
In response to talk that Iran was ahead of the curve on a potential deal, Trump wrote on social media on Friday, “The terms that Iran has leaked via fake news have nothing to do with the terms that were agreed to in writing.”
What is in the contract?
The terms of the proposed agreement between the United States and Iran have not yet been officially released. However, various sources say that the signing of the agreement will open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports will be lifted. Sanctions on Iran may be eased and some of the country’s frozen funds may be released.
The initial agreement does not include the nuclear issue. It will be decided based on discussions over the next 60 days.
The White House claims that in the initial agreement, Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program and destroy or transfer its enriched uranium. However, Iran has said that its uranium will not be destroyed or transferred to any country; rather, it will be kept in the country and its quality will be reduced.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a joint invasion of Iran. After 40 days, on April 8, the United States and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire through the mediation of Pakistan. On April 11 and 12, a meeting between officials from the two countries in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which lasted about 21 hours, ended without an agreement. Since then, attempts have been made to hold a second meeting between them. It is reported that the agreement will ultimately be signed digitally, rather than in the direct presence of officials from the two countries.
Several top political and military leaders, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed on the first day of the US and Israeli attacks. Iranian state television reported yesterday that the funeral ceremonies for the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin on July 4 (19 Muharram). He will be buried in the city of Mashhad on July 9.
Iran has further secured its uranium stockpile
Iran has taken stricter measures to secure its stockpile of enriched uranium, according to five sources familiar with U.S. intelligence. Tehran has destroyed some tunnels and planted explosive mines at the entrances to ensure that the United States cannot seize Iran’s uranium during a raid. The 440 kilograms of enriched uranium Iran has is close to the level of being capable of producing a nuclear weapon. Experts say that the task of seizing uranium from Iran has become much more difficult, risky and time-consuming than before.
