Both Sides Signal Iran War Peace Deal Could Be at Hand

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday he can confirm “a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal” has been reached to end the war between America and Iran.Mr. Sharif said Pakistani negotiators were working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps. “Peace has never been this close as it is now,” he said in an X post.Hours earlier, Iran’s foreign minister, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, said in his own post that a deal has never been closer but that “the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content.” He said that details of the agreement would be shared with the public at the proper time.Iran’s Mehr News Agency had released what it claimed were points of the agreement. It called for half of Iran’s frozen assets to be returned, the Strait of Hormuz to remain under Iranian control, and Iran to receive $300 billion in reconstruction funds.President Trump shared a screenshot of Mr. Araghchi’s post on his Truth Social account. Mr. Trump posted earlier that the “terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing.”A Trump administration official told reporters the deal was about 80 to 85 percent done, and would be finished in the next few days. It would include a commitment that Iran would end its nuclear program but technical details on removing Iran’s enriched uranium would need to be worked out during a 60-day period after the agreement is signed. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, the Associated Press reported.The official said Mr. Trump had been in touch with the Israelis throughout the process and that the emerging deal would cover Israel, Lebanon, and the broader Gulf region. The administration believes the Israelis will support it “when they see the full terms of the deal and when they appreciate that fundamentally there has to be delivery from the Iranians before we deliver any of the benefits that they’re comfortable with.”The administration official said that Iran would not receive any money but would gain sanctions relief if it complied with the agreement.One potential stumbling block is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. While Iran’s top diplomats are backing the deal, Iran’s hardline security officials have not signaled agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported. The hardliners are reportedly concerned with any signal that the agreement appeared as a victory for America or Israel.Vice President Vance said there had been a lot of false information spread about details of the deal. “The Iranians are not receiving any cash, and no funds are being released for simply signing a deal or attending a meeting,” Mr. Vance said in an X post.“The deal is structured to ensure that the US and its allies concerns are prioritized, and that if the Islamic Republic of Iran meets its obligations, then economic benefits will flow to them and to the entire region,” Mr. Vance continued. “This deal has the potential to remake the region and lead to lasting peace.”Bloomberg reported that America and Iran may sign an agreement on the sidelines of the Group of Seven world leaders summit next week in France. Switzerland has offered to host any peace agreement signing, the Swiss foreign ministry told the AFP news organization.The American military and Israel began waves of airstrikes across Iran on February 28. Iran launched a series of drone and missile attacks at several Gulf nations and later announced it would block ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The American Navy responded with a blockade of Iran to halt its oil shipments.The two sides reached a temporary ceasefire on April 8 but the Pentagon carried out a series of limited strikes this week in response to the downing of an Apache helicopter by an Iranian drone. Iran carried out its own counterstrikes.Any lasting deal that fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz would provide worldwide economic relief. The dramatic drop in ship traffic in the vital passageway has caused oil and gas prices to spike across the globe. World oil prices dropped more than 3 percent on news of a possible deal.About one-third of global fertilizer supply also passes through the strait. Another raw good that relies on the strait is aluminum. About 10 percent of the world’s raw aluminum comes from the Middle East.

Both Sides Signal Iran War Peace Deal Could Be at Hand

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