The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a peace deal, bringing an end to months of fighting that has sparked devastation across the region and upended the global economy since the conflict began in late February, U.S. and Pakistani officials announced on Sunday.
The agreement, brokered after weeks of halting negotiations in Pakistan and then Qatar, will see a permanent ceasefire implemented as well as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides will now enter talks to iron out the details of the agreement and move forward on longer-term issues, including key questions such as uranium enrichment and sanctions.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday, which is his 80th birthday. “Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
Moments earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telegraphed a similar message.
“Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED,” Sharif wrote on X. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
He wrote that the signing ceremony would take place in Switzerland on June 19.
“With the agreement now in place, mediators will facilitate a series of meetings this week,” Sharif added. “These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony.”
Also on Sunday, Iranian state television reported that Iran “forced” the U.S. to accept a peace deal, and that traffic through the Persian Gulf will now be regulated by Iran and Oman, according to Reuters.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said the deal would be signed in-person or electronically by Vice President JD Vance or himself.
The agreement follows reports on May 28 that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had agreed to a 60-day extension of the existing ceasefire, which was first reached in early April and then extended weeks later. Both sides accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.
Among the key priorities for both countries during negotiations were Iran’s commitment to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, while the Islamic Republic sought the removal of economic sanctions that have crippled the country’s growth for over 45 years. Iran has also sought the release of billions in frozen Iranian funds, according to Axios.
While details remain scarce, the emerging peace agreement has been criticized by some members of Trump’s own party and by the Israeli government, with some claiming it does little to build on the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from during his first term.
“I’m seeing a lot of fake information about a potential deal to reopen the Strait and end Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on Friday. He wrote that Iran would not receive “any cash” and that the deal would be structured to ensure American concerns are “prioritized.”
“The president is going to get us a good outcome, one way or the other,” Vance added.
Some critics have also accused the administration of not going far enough to dismantle Iran’s existing government. In his interview with the Journal, Trump said: “As far as regime change, I never cared about regime change.”
Today’s peace deal follows multiple declarations in recent months from President Trump that the war with Iran had already effectively ended, only for hostilities to continue, despite the president’s promise that the conflict would be a brief campaign of a few weeks.
In early May, the Trump administration told U.S. lawmakers that hostilities had been “terminated” as a result of the ceasefires, stopping the clock on a crucial deadline for congressional approval of the war.
Economies across the world are watching to see how quickly negotiators can free up oil traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, which once carried about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. In late May, traffic slowed to about 10 percent of pre-war levels in the face of Iranian mines and gunboats, plus a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
As a result of chaos in the strait, oil and gas prices have shot up dramatically. On Sunday, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline stood at $4.07, up from $2.98 two days before the war broke out, according to AAA. Most Americans blame Trump for the spike in gas prices, a CNN poll released in May found. The president himself, however, has repeatedly dismissed concerns about rising fuel costs.
Following Trump’s Sunday afternoon announcement, oil prices dropped by more than 4 percent. But, even if traffic picks back up and prices continue to ease, the political and human damage of the conflict will be lasting.
The war drove a wedge between the U.S. and its traditional European allies, as NATO countries earned furious criticism from the Americans for not joining the war.
Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint bombing campaign on Iran on February 28, killing Ayatollah Khamenei. The war spread into southern Lebanon as Hezbollah vowed to avenge the Supreme Leader’s death, engaging Israeli forces.
More than 3,200 people have been killed by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which has proved a persistent sticking point in negotiations, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Over 3,400 people have been killed in Iran, according to HRANA, with thousands more injured. During the conflict, 13 U.S. service personnel have died and hundreds have been injured, the Pentagon has said.
Multiple recent polls also indicate the conflict is broadly unpopular with Americans.
According to an Ipsos survey conducted last month, 61 percent of Americans believe the U.S. made a mistake by using military force against Iran, while just 36 percent said it made the right decision. That is the same percentage of people who said the U.S. sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake in 1971, according to Gallup.
