Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that the United States and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to end their current state of war. The draft pact focuses on the critical reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resolution of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The 85% complete draft and Pakistan's mediating role

According to the report, the current draft of the peace agreement is estimated to be between 80% and 85% complete. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan has taken the lead in mediation, coordinating the final text between Washington and Tehran to prevent a full-scale regional colllapse following a period of intense exchange of fire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on X that an agreement has "never been closer," the stability of the deal remains precarious. u.S.. President Donald Trump has displayed a volatile approach to the negotiations, alternating between sharing Araghchi's optimistic posts and publicly warning Iranian officials to "get their act together, and fast." This tension suggests that while the technical text is largely settled, the political will remains fragile.

The 60-day window to remove enriched uranium

A central pillar of the agreement involves the dismantling of Iran's nuclear capabilities. as the report says, a senior U.S. government official indicated that the two nations are working toward the removal or destruction of highly enriched uranium from Iranian soil. once the agreement is signed, a 60-day window will be used to finalize the technical logistics of this process.

The removal process is particularly complex because the uranium is believed to be stored at three separate nuclear facilities that were bombed by the United States last year. The U.S. government has not yet specified which entity or agency will be responsible for the actual extraction and transport of these materials,leaving a significant operational gap in the current plan.

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilize global energy

The economic impetus for this deal is the restoration of the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint that has been largely dysfunctional since the war began. the closure of this route, combined with a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports imposed in mid-April, has crippled the flow of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf, driving up global fuel and food prices.

Regional officials suggest that the final pact will include a phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. By reopening the Strait of Hormuz,the United States and Iran hope to alleviate the global energy crisis that has persisted since the conflict's inception on February 28.

Israel's refusal to withdraw from Lebanon

Despite the progress between Washington and Tehran, a major geopolitical blind spot remains: the role of Israel. While the U.S.-Iran deal intends to end hostilities "on all fronts, including Lebanon," Israel is not a party to these negotiations. Israeli leaders have explicitly stated they do not plan to withdraw from Lebanon, where they have been fighting the Iran-allied militia Hezbollah since early March.

This creates a critical contradiction in the draft deal. If the U.S. and Iran agree to end the war but Israel continues its operations in Lebanon, the "all fronts" ceasefire may be impossible to enforce. It remains unclear how the U.S. intends to reconcile its agreement with Iran with the independent military objectives of its closest regional ally.

A fragile peace following the February 28 escalation

The current diplomatic push is an attempt to formalize a peace that has been largely absent since the U.S. and Israel initiated the war on February 28. Although a fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7, the region has remained on a knife-edge, with global markets reacting violently to every hint of renewed aggression.

The trajectory of this conflict echoes previous cycles of Middle Eastern volatility, where temporary ceasefires often serve as breathing room rather than permanent solutions. The success of this specific deal depends on whether President Donald Trump's desire for a swift victory outweighs the deep-seated mistrust between the U.S. intelligence community and the Iranian government.