“All elements need to be agreed today.” That was the message passed to Reuters on Monday by a source close to the proposals, describing a plan to halt the fighting between Iran and the United States that could start the same day and get the Strait of Hormuz open again.
Pakistan wrote the framework. It went to both capitals overnight, and Islamabad is the only line of communication between them in these talks. The plan has two tiers. First comes an immediate ceasefire. A broader settlement follows, with 15 to 20 days set aside to finish it. The opening understanding would take the form of a memorandum of understanding, signed off electronically through Pakistan. Tentatively, the package carries the name “Islamabad Accord.”
Who is on the phone
According to that source, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who commands Pakistan’s army, had been on the line “all night long” with Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Vice President JD Vance. The plan also foresees a regional arrangement for the strait and a last round of face-to-face talks in Islamabad.
A day earlier, Axios had reported talk among Washington, Tehran and regional mediators of a 45-day ceasefire, the opening stage of a deal in two phases that might end the war for good.
Neither government answered at once. Tahir Andrabi, the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson, declined to comment. Two Pakistani sources said Iran had not yet committed despite heavy civilian and military lobbying, and that a temporary-truce idea supported by Pakistan, China and Washington had so far won no pledge from Tehran.
What Tehran wants
Iranian officials have told Reuters they are after a permanent ceasefire with guarantees that the U.S. and Israel will not strike again. They say mediators in Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt have passed them messages. The final agreement, the source said, is expected to include Iranian pledges not to pursue nuclear weapons, traded for lifted sanctions and access to its frozen assets.
The chain of events moved fast. DW reported that on Tuesday President Donald Trump announced Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, had sent him a ceasefire plan and that he would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, provided Iran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” The post landed hours ahead of an ultimatum of his own, in which he had threatened the death of “a whole civilization.” Trump also said Iran had sent a 10-point proposal he considered “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Sharif then asked both delegations, American and Iranian, to come to Islamabad on Friday. Analyst Zahid Hussain called the ceasefire “a positive first step” but said the negotiations “will not be easy for Islamabad.” Israel, he noted, had accepted the ceasefire reluctantly while continuing operations in Lebanon.
Sources
- Islamabad Accord: Iran, US receive plan to end hostilities (Reuters via Business Recorder)
- How Pakistan brokered a US-Iran ceasefire, and what's next (DW)
