Pakistan Brokers the Ceasefire Agreement Between America and Iran

A little more than an hour before the expiration of President Trump’s deadline for an agreement with the Islamic Republic, the president announced that according to a Pakistani-brokered deal he would suspend plans for devastating attacks in Iran. Islamabad emerges as a diplomatic winner from the deal. The suspension of what was to be a major escalation in the Iran war will last as long as the geostrategically crucial Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked for intentional shipping, remains open. Negotiations over a long term war-ending deal are reportedly expected at Islamabad on Friday. The breakthrough, Mr. Trump wrote on TruthSocial, came after a conversation with Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif of Pakistan and the commander of its military, Field Marshal Asim Munir. Islamabad has led a group of Sunni Muslim countries that urged Washington and Iran to agree to a ceasefire and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Pakistanis “requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”Earlier in the day, American forces struck Kharg island, a piece of land in the Strait of Hormuz, where 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports are delivered. The strike, which only hit military assets and spared oil installations, was seen as a message to the Iranian leadership. Several commentators are saying now that Tehran has retreated from its original tough stance as a result of the attack. Until Tuesday, Tehran officials insisted they would never agree to a deal based on a temporary ceasefire. They vowed that the only acceptable agreement would include an end to war, a mutual agreement to refrain from future attacks, removal of all sanctions that have existed for decades, and compensations for Iran’s war losses.Mr. Sharif wrote earlier on X that talks “are progressing steadily, strongly, and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future.” He described the two-week ceasefire period as a “good will gesture” that could lead to a permanent agreement to end the war.“We have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Mr. Trump wrote just before 7 pm eastern time. “We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”As the Iranian regime is divided, with several officials pushing in opposite directions, opening the Hormuz Strait, where 20 percent of the world’s oil passes, is the biggest question mark in the new deal. Mr. Trump has noted earlier in the week that one “terrorist” could stop traffic by dropping a sea mine that would hit a ship or oil tanker. Pakistan emerges as the diplomatic winner from the latest development. Mr. Trump has long favored Islamabad, and is reportedly impressed with Marshal Munir. Earlier in the day, Pakistan abstained in a vote on an American-backed proposed resolution at the United Nations Security Council, which backed freedom of navigation in the Hormuz Strait. The resolution failed after it was vetoed by Russia and Communist China.

Pakistan Brokers the Ceasefire Agreement Between America and Iran

Pakistan Brokers the Ceasefire Agreement Between America and Iran

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