Momentum for a deal to end Iran’s war appeared to gather steam on Saturday as Pakistan’s top mediator said the deal was closer than “ever” and US President Donald Trump was expected to discuss demining in the Strait of Hormuz at next week’s G7 summit.
Separately, Iranian state television said the funeral ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening attack of the war, would take place in July.
A senior US official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said Trump planned to meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit starting Monday with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss efforts to defuse the war.
Britain and France, both members of the G7, have expressed interest in assisting with the demining of the waterway once the conflict is halted. The official said both have military ships at sea that could participate.
It was not immediately clear how many mines were in the straits that Iran has effectively controlled since the war began, virtually shutting down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. The US has blocked Iranian ports in response. A weak ceasefire has been in place since April 7.
Pakistan says a deal to end the war is close
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the deal aimed at ending the war was expected to be completed within 24 hours. Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the agreement, which will be followed by technical-level talks next week.
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Sharif also told his Qatari counterpart “a peace agreement is ready to be signed by the relevant parties in the near future,” a separate statement said.
Senior US officials noted Sharif’s optimistic comments. The US believes what Iran will discuss is a “very strong deal,” the official said, but declined to speculate on when the agreement could be signed.
Iran signaled optimism but indicated that more time was needed.
“While this will not happen tomorrow, the possibility that it will happen in the coming days cannot be ruled out,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a statement carried by state TV. He later said “the possibility of completing the memorandum of understanding in the coming days is very high.”
Baghaei added that the Islamabad memorandum under discussion was focused on ending the war and “at this stage, it has been decided that there will be no discussion on the nuclear issue.”
Iran’s nuclear and enriched uranium programs have long been at the center of tensions with the US and Israel and a source of international concern.
Three regional officials said Friday, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, they expected a signing ceremony in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approved the agreement.
The apparent breakthrough came after Iran exchanged fire with the US and Israel earlier this week, threatening to violate the ceasefire and push the Middle East back into full-scale war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted in X on Friday that the agreement had “never been closer.” Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized in recent weeks that the countries are on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi’s post on social media.
Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in negotiations, hours after he threatened to seize Iran’s oil industry.
Khamenei will be buried at a Shiite shrine
Khamenei’s funeral, burial and farewell events will take place between July 4 and 9 during Muharram, the traditional period of mourning in the Shiite Muslim calendar.
Khamenei was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba, who was seen as less compromising and had not been seen in public since the war began.
Funeral ceremonies are expected to begin in Tehran. The procession will move to Qom, the base of many senior Shiite clerics, and then to Mashhad, Khamenei’s birthplace. He will be buried there at the Imam Reza Shrine, considered the holiest site among Shiites.
Khamenei re-established the Islamic Republic after taking control following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. Khomeini was a fiery and charismatic ideologue who led the overthrow of the shah and installed rule by Shiite Muslim clerics.
Khamenei ruled much longer than Khomeini. He expanded the Shiite clerical class and built the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard into the most important body supporting his government. The Revolutionary Guard became a military and business giant, the most elite force in the country and the leader of its ballistic missile arsenal.
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