The US and Iran have finalized the text of the agreement, says the Pakistani prime minister, the next steps unclear – National

of Pakistan the prime minister said on Friday the United States and Iran have agreed to formulate a deal aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize a deal.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran had reached a “final, agreed 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 so 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 plunge the Middle East into full-scale war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that a deal “has never been closer” in a tweet to US President Donald Trump. who has said several times in recent weeks that the countries are on the verge of an agreementshared Araghchi’s post on his social networks.

The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has shaken the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since April 7.

Araghchi told Iranian state television on Friday that both sides were working towards signing an initial agreement that declared an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon”.

Israel has been fighting the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the US-Iran negotiations, and its leaders have said they have no plans to withdraw from Lebanon.

Araghchi said the terms related to Iran’s nuclear program will be finalized in 60 days after the initial agreement is signed.

He said the parties could agree to extend that period.

Iran’s nuclear program has been a key point of division. The US and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon – a key reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted that its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior US administration official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said on Friday that the deal in development would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.

The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal will be used to work out technical details for removing Iran’s enriched uranium. The official did not provide details on who the US expects to take responsibility for removing the uranium, which is believed to be buried under three nuclear facilities that were hit by US strikes last year.

Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas. The disruption of transit through the strait has strained global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive across the region.

The US official said the developing agreement includes provisions to reopen the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed a wartime tariff system that the US and other countries say violates international law.

“There will be costs,” Araghchi said, “and those costs must be paid.”

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.

They said they expect a signing ceremony for the deal in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.

Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in the negotiations, just hours after he threatened to escalate attacks and seize Iran’s oil industry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is not a party to the agreement being negotiated. He said in a statement Friday that he and Trump were in “complete agreement” that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that Israel also expects Trump to support key Israeli interests, including weakening Iran’s missile program and proxy network.

Katz warned that Israel can still act independently on Iran and that the country will not withdraw from the areas it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor will it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The deal was brokered mainly by Pakistan, led by its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, regional officials said, with the support of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar.

Price reported from Washington and Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press reporters Sahar Ameri in Berlin, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Collin Binkley and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.

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