Pakistani premier signs Islamabad MoU as mediator between US, Iran

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (Islamabad MoU) agreed to by the US and Iran to end the war.

Pakistan is the main mediator between the US and Iran after it secured a ceasefire on April 08 and hosted the highest level of talks between the two nations on April 12 and 13 since they severed diplomatic ties in 1979.

According to a statement from the Pakistan prime minister’s office, Sharif signed the Islamabad MoU as “mediator.”

Sharif’s signing followed electronic signatures by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Sharif announced that the landmark Islamabad MoU between the US and Iran entered into force with immediate effect.

In a statement posted on US social media company X, Sharif said the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” was electronically signed by the presidents of the US and Iran and endorsed by Pakistan in its role as mediator.

Under the terms of the memorandum, Iran will immediately reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, while the US will lift its naval blockade, according to the Pakistani leader.

Soon after the US and Israel initiated war on Feb. 28, Iran closed the Hormuz, and later on April 13, American forces imposed their blockade on Iranian ports – making passage of commercial ships nearly impossible through the critical waterway.