Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that the United States and Iran are closer to a peace deal than at any previous point in their negotiations, and that his country is preparing to facilitate signing within the day.
"With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week," Sharif wrote in a post on X.
Pakistan has acted as a mediator between the two countries throughout the conflict. Sharif had said earlier on Friday that a "final, agreed upon text" of a deal between the U.S. and Iran "has been reached." He added in a separate post, "Peace has never been this close as it is now."
A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the latest details of the negotiations, told reporters Friday that the U.S. and Iran could sign the agreement in the "next few days." The document, described as a memorandum of understanding, would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and steps to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.
The official was cautious about certainty. "I maybe would have said 75% this morning. It's probably more like 80[%]-85% now," the official said. "But it's not 100%." Iran's system is "very complicated," the official added, and there are internal fractures within the regime.
According to CNBC, the memorandum of understanding in its current form also "guarantees a long-term peace in the region" by ending Iran's funding of violence and imposes "an inspection regime" on the country. If Iran complies with the terms, it would receive "significant" economic relief, including the easing of long-term sanctions and the unfreezing of its assets. However, those benefits "only accrue if they actually deliver," the official said.
The two sides have not yet determined where a deal would be signed. The official said the U.S. believes both parties are satisfied with the current text and expects they will "get to a signature within the next few days," barring unexpected complications.
President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon that the U.S. had "just made a great settlement of the war with Iran." Israel and other regional allies are expected to accept the agreement, the U.S. official said, even after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated Friday that Tel Aviv will not withdraw its forces from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, or a northern area of the West Bank. "We don't expect any country, whether [in] the Gulf Coast or Israel, to give up their right of self-defense," the official said. "What we do expect is that if we're able to have everyone participate in the peace process, that everyone else will do the same."
Technical-level talks between the parties are planned for next week, according to Sharif's post.
