U.S.-Iran to Electronically Sign 60-Day Ceasefire Deal
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- U.S. and Iran will hold a virtual meeting Sunday to electronically sign an MOU extending the ceasefire by 60 days, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and starting nuclear negotiations, after roughly three months of talks mediated by Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.
- Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the electronic signing is expected within 24 hours, with technical-level talks to follow next week, and Pakistan's foreign ministry confirmed the virtual ceremony is scheduled for Sunday.
- Trump posted on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz 'is OPEN TO ALL' once signed and that the U.S. will later retrieve and destroy Iran's buried nuclear material — 'Nuclear Dust' under 'powerful sunken granite mountains' — while threatening renewed military force if the agreement is not implemented 'quickly, easily, and smoothly.'
- VP J.D. Vance, who is leading the U.S. negotiations team, is the logistical reason the signing is virtual: he could not return to the U.S. before Trump departs Monday morning for the G7 summit in France.
- Tuesday's G7 meeting in France will include Egyptian, Qatari, and UAE leaders focusing on the Iran deal and a UK-France coalition to clear Hormuz of mines; Saudi Crown Prince MBS declined for scheduling reasons and Israeli PM Netanyahu is not expected to attend.
Why it matters: The 60-day extension reopens the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil shipments — but Trump's parallel threat of renewed military force and his claim that the U.S. will independently retrieve and destroy Iran's buried nuclear material show the deal is a pause, not a resolution. The mediation channel (Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey) and the absence of Israel and Saudi Arabia from the France follow-up signal a new regional alignment being formalized without the usual Western-led architecture.
