Sharif hails US-Iran accord as 60-day talks begin — Latest News
Latest news: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the US and Iranian memorandum of understanding as a "peaceful resolution" after Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian signed it. Sharif said the agreement would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and start 60 days of negotiations between the two countries.
The terms also call for Iran to receive waivers for US sanctions on crude oil exports, petroleum products and associated banking services. The parties will then negotiate the fate of Iran's nuclear program and stock of highly enriched uranium.
Sharif on the Hormuz deal
Sharif, who has served as Pakistan’s prime minister and mediator, congratulated both countries for signing the agreement. His comments centered on the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a route tied in the deal to oil flow and banking access.
The agreement gives the two sides 60 days to negotiate after the signing. Under the terms described, the reopening of the strait and the sanctions waivers come before those talks over Iran’s nuclear program begin.
G7 leaders in France
The leaders of the G7 countries welcomed the deal in France and called it a "historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapon." Emmanuel Macron said the deal would stop a "situation of great instability that had terrible consequences for our economies."
That reaction came alongside the deal’s economic terms: reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming oil flow after waivers on Iranian crude oil exports, petroleum products and associated banking services. The structure leaves the nuclear talks tied to the end of the immediate pressure points.
Israel response to the accord
Israel’s reaction was sharply different. Mark Regev questioned how seriously Iran would approach negotiations after America removed economic and military "pressure," and said, "maybe Trump will get a great deal … but at the moment I don’t see that. I see America having given Iran’s regime a return to life."
On Tuesday, Yair Lapid said, "Netanyahu promised us a historic victory – and we got a crisis with the Americans, Hormuz open to the Iranians, money for the Revolutionary Guards, ballistic missiles aimed at Israel, and Israel waiting in the corridor like a scolded child." David Horovitz wrote on Wednesday that the agreement would leave Israel more vulnerable than before the war began.
Netanyahu’s Likud party reportedly scrapped plans to highlight his close ties with Trump in its upcoming election campaign, a change that came as Israel is set to hold elections before October. The deal now leaves Israeli leaders facing a political and security debate while the 60-day negotiation period runs its course.
