- Iranian president confirms phone call with PM Shehbaz.
- Pezeshkian thanks Malaysia for its humanitarian stance.
- Trump shares draft peace proposal with allies: report.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday expressed gratitude to Pakistan for “its initiative and effective efforts to reach an agreement” with the United States, saying Tehran aimed to bolster cooperation with Muslim and neighbouring nations.
The Iranian president made the remarks in a post on his official X account after holding separate phone conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“I thanked Malaysia for its humanitarian stance and Pakistan for its initiative and effective efforts to reach an agreement. Iran’s policy is to expand cooperation with Muslim and neighbouring countries in all fields,” President Pezeshkian said.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency suggested the remarks were “implicit confirmation” that a “Pakistani-mediated understanding has been achieved” between Tehran and Washington.
Pakistan has been acting as a key mediator between the two sides during and after the six weeks of war that started in late February.
Hostilities in the Middle East erupted on February 28 after the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate by targeting US military bases across the region and closing the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Islamabad brokered a two-week ceasefire on April 8, and later hosted the two sides for direct peace talks between April 11 and 12.
Despite the only direct talks between the two sides ending in a deadlock, Pakistan continued its mediation and relayed messages between Tehran and Washington to help bring a permanent end to the war.
President Pezeshkian’s remarks seemingly confirmed that the Pakistan-mediated negotiations have resulted in the crucial agreement between the US and Iran to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
News of the potential agreement came after a round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries on Thursday.
Meanwhile, President Trump has reportedly shared the draft peace proposal with allies, including Israel.
The proposal circulated by Trump closely resembles versions already discussed across the Middle East in recent days, The Guardian reported.
Under the draft arrangement, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to commercial maritime traffic, the US blockade on Iranian ports would end, and Tehran would regain access to up to $12 billion in frozen funds.
The agreement aims to restore shipping activity through the strategic waterway to pre-conflict levels within 30 days, while formal negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme would begin under a process expected to continue for up to 60 days.
The talks would cover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a temporary halt to further enrichment activities and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog. Iran would also formally reject the pursuit of nuclear weapons.
