Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that the United States and Iran have agreed to a framework for a peace deal that would end the months-long conflict in the Middle East, with a final text of the deal reached.
Pakistan is now preparing for an electronic signing expected within the next 24 hours followed by technical-level talks next week, Sharif added.
"We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week," he said in a post on social media platform X.
Previous declarations of an imminent breakthrough failed to materialize.
The breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the US and Israel over three days this week, threatening to push the region into a full-scale war. US Central Command late Friday said in a social media post that it intercepted several Iranian attack drones that were targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The war launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.