Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif signs the Islamabad MoU as mediator between the US and Iran, ending the war.
ISTANBUL: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (Islamabad MoU) agreed to by the United States (US) and Iran to end the war, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
Pakistan is the main mediator between the US and Iran after it secured a ceasefire on April 8 and hosted the highest-level 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 had entered into force with immediate effect.
In a statement posted on the 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 the war on Feb 28, Iran closed the Strait of 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.
