US and Iran reach Pakistan-mediated deal to extend ceasefire & open Hormuz; UN chief hails

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2026) The United States and Iran reached a Pakistan-brokered cease-fire agreement on Sunday, paving the way for further talks that could ultimately end a months-long war that has killed thousands and rattled the global economy.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” US President Donald Trump said in a post on social media.

On the other hand, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement that the country had finalized a memorandum of understanding with the United States after “months of long and difficult negotiations.”

Pakistan, which has friendly ties to both the United States and Iran, has served as the key mediator between the two countries.

Announcing the agreement in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland."

In New York, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately welcomed the deal which he said represents a critical step towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

"The Secretary-General expresses deep appreciation for the constructive role played by Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and other regional countries in supporting the negotiations that led to the peace deal," the UN chief said in a statement, hoping that the parties will redouble their efforts towards a final resolution of the conflict.

"The Secretary-General reaffirms that the United Nations stands ready to support the parties in achieving a durable and comprehensive peace."

In his post, Trump said that the deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, an economically vital waterway, and that he had authorized “the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade” on Iranian ports.

“Ships of the World, start your engines,” he wrote. “Let the oil flow!”

The text of the agreement was not immediately released.

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But MTrump’s post aligned with what American and Iranian officials had previously said an initial agreement might contain. The deal would include a 60-day cease-fire, the officials said.

Each side sought to portray the agreement as a diplomatic victory after nearly four months of war. But some of the thorniest issues — including the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme, and sanctions relief for Tehran — remain unresolved and have been pushed to a further round of negotiations.

In a statement, Supreme National Security Council said the agreement called for an immediate end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, where Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters are locked in a conflict. Israel, which was not a party to the U.S.-Iran negotiations, has not yet commented on the agreement.

An agreement appeared at risk earlier in the day after Israel bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut. An angry Trump said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had shown “no judgment” in ordering those strikes and called on all sides to “stand down.”

A last-minute flurry of negotiations, led by Qatar, eased the tensions, and the final agreement appeared to come together late in the night in Tehran. Iran held off agreeing until the early hours of Monday there, allowing it to claim it had not signed on Trump’s birthday, on Sunday, as he had wanted, according to two Iranian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Iran’s nuclear programme, officials have previously said both sides would hold detailed negotiations over it, as well as over the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran, during the 60-day cease-fire.

Lebanon may prove to be another stumbling block. Any deal that includes the conflict there would depend on both the United States being able to compel Israel to wind down its military campaign and Iran’s cooperation in restraining Hezbollah.