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Deal Announced, Blockade Ended
President Donald Trump said Sunday, "The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," and authorized "the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade" as part of the agreement with Iran.
“Pakistan announces that a peace agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran, with the signing to take place in Switzerland on Friday”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on X, "Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED," and said a signing was scheduled for Friday in Switzerland.
NBC News reported that Iranian state media broadcast the announcement, while Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said a memorandum of understanding is complete and the U.S. naval blockade against Iran will end Sunday night.
The agreement is described as intended to bring a halt to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, which began on Feb. 28, marked by the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and U.S.-Israeli strikes across Iran.
The NBC News account also tied the deal to the Strait of Hormuz, where a ceasefire agreed in April still left disputes over reopening a vital trade route through which some 20% of the world’s oil passed before the war.
Conflicting Messages, Logistics
CNN said the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran is expected to kick off 60 more days of negotiation on ending the war, while it also reported that US and Iranian officials issued conflicting messages on the terms of the agreement.
CNN also quoted Vice President JD Vance saying, "I certainly plan to be there, but it’s possible the president himself could be there," as he discussed who would attend the memorandum signing ceremony.
In the Hill, Mike Pence cast doubt on the possibility of a U.S.-Iran peace deal, telling NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt on “The Hill Sunday,” "I just don’t trust the Iranians," and arguing that "no deal is better than a bad deal."
The Hill reported that Trump had advised Israel and Iran to "not blow" the finalization of the emerging peace deal during strikes in Lebanon, while it described Pence’s conditions for any acceptable outcome.
NBC News added that Trump told the Wall Street Journal the deal would either be signed electronically by himself or by Vice President JD Vance in person, and that no other details were immediately available.
What’s at Stake Next
NBC News reported that the agreement is intended to bring a halt to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, with the war’s wider toll described through HRANA documentation of more than 3,600 people killed in Iran, including more than 1,700 civilians, since late February.
“• US-Iran agreement: US President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran has been reached and that the US will end its naval blockade on the country”
NBC News also stated that more than 3,700 people have been killed in Lebanon, 36 have been killed in Gulf states, and 20 have died in Israel, alongside a count of thirteen U.S. service members killed and two more who died of noncombat causes.
CNN said the president’s authorization to remove the U.S. naval blockade and the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz did not mean traffic would immediately return to prewar levels, and it cited US Central Command reporting "redirected 139 compliant commercial ships and disabled 9 non-compliant vessels since April 13."
In the Hill, Pence warned that unless the Iranians forfeit and dismantle their nuclear program, dismantle their missile program, immediately open the straits and stop subsidizing terrorist groups across the region, the U.S. would do well to let U.S. armed forces "finish the job."
NBC News further reported that a signing scheduled for Friday in Switzerland was expected to begin a new phase of negotiations, with Pakistani mediation described as key and with a ceasefire in April still leaving strikes amid disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
