The Prime Minister of Pakistan has declared that a peace agreement has been reached between the US and Iran, which will end “military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”, writes the BBC.
The agreement will be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland, adds Shehbaz Sharif; details of what it contains – and what it doesn't contain – are still being released.
Donald Trump says 'oil will flow' once deal is signed Friday – oil prices down since announcement
The announcement is a very welcome gift to Trump on the occasion of his 80th birthday, but the details of the agreement are not fully known.
Iran's deputy foreign minister confirms on state TV that a deal has been finalized, with the country's top military command portraying it as a victory for Tehran
It is unclear whether the deal will provide a respite for Lebanon, where two previous ceasefires have failed to materialize.
The war began on February 28, with US and Israeli attacks on Iran. It prompted Iran to attack Israel and US-allied Gulf states and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil and gas.
Anything that leads to the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be welcomed, not only by the global maritime industry and the world economy in general, but also by Iran, writes a BBC analyst.
The Islamic Republic has tried its best not to give Donald Trump the satisfaction of knowing how much his naval blockade of Gulf ports is affecting them, but the damage to Iran's economy has been huge.
However, the true measure of any “peace deal” is what was or was not achieved after this war began on February 28th.
Because until that time, oil, gas, fertilizer, helium and everything else from the Gulf flowed unhindered through the strait.
Beyond that, the real long-term test will be whether, as the US president claims, the danger of Iran developing a nuclear weapon has really been reduced.
Or, as some fear, if newly emboldened hardliners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will now secretly try to race each other to find a bomb as the best defense against another attack.
