Iran says memorandum signing with US not scheduled for Sunday

Pakistan announced it will host an electronic signing ceremony via video on Sunday for a US-Iran peace deal, a development that conflicts with earlier statements from Iran's Foreign Ministry. Iran had indicated the memorandum signing would not take place on Sunday, citing the other side's reluctance, and denied reports of its delegation traveling to Geneva or other locations.

US President Donald Trump also stated the deal was scheduled to be signed on Sunday, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would be immediately "open to all" after it was signed. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the two sides had agreed on a framework for a peace deal and that Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing on Sunday, to be followed by technical-level talks next week.

The war, which began on February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has sent global energy prices sharply higher and killed thousands of people. The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the US naval blockade, sources on all sides of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program would take place afterwards. Draft terms indicate the US would begin releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on its oil exports, in return for Iran opening the strait.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his country would not be party to the agreement, and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the agreement would end the war in Lebanon, implying an Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas. Hours after Araqchi's remarks, US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, which posed a threat to commercial traffic.