The Iran-US Peace Deal, a fragile one though, seems to put an end to the war that lasted more than three months and rattled oil markets worldwide. President Donald Trump confirmed the agreement late Sunday, hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced it on social media. A signing ceremony is now set for Friday in Geneva.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that “the deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” and said the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf waterway carrying a fifth of the world’s oil, would reopen immediately and without toll. He also ordered the US Navy to lift its blockade of Iranian ports.
Sharif, whose government quietly mediated talks for months, posted that both sides had agreed to an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” He thanked Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and China for the effort, along with army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, whom Trump calls his favourite field marshal.
What Exactly Does The Iran-US Peace Deal Cover?
What has been agreed so far is a memorandum of understanding, not a fully signed peace treaty.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it followed “a difficult and intensive period of negotiations,” but issues like Iran’s nuclear programme and the scope of sanctions relief have been left for technical talks before Friday. The war began on February 28, when the US and Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. An April ceasefire allowed talks to continue, even as fighting flared on and off over the Hormuz blockade.
Why Is Israel Calling This A Catastrophe?
Former Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman called the deal “a catastrophe from Israel’s perspective,” while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Israel was not bound by it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing elections later this year, insisted he would keep working to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions regardless of what Washington had agreed to.
Critics, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, accuse Netanyahu of misjudging Trump and being sidelined in talks affecting Israel’s own security. Adding to the tension, Israeli forces struck Beirut the very morning the deal was announced. Trump himself said the strike should not have happened so close to a peace deal.
Iran-US Peace Deal: Where Does Pakistan Stand In All This?
Pakistan has emerged as the most visible mediator in the process, a role it has not played since helping broker US-China rapprochement in the 1970s. Sharif, Munir and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shuttled messages between Washington and Tehran for months, hosting earlier talks in Islamabad. World leaders, from Britain’s Keir Starmer to New Zealand’s Winston Peters, have publicly thanked Islamabad.
For India, which has long projected itself as a steady voice in West Asia, Pakistan’s newfound visibility is being closely watched by analysts, even as New Delhi continues its own quiet engagement with Washington and Tehran.
How India Could Benefit, And Why The Worries Remain?
Markets in India reacted with relief. Brent crude fell nearly five per cent on Monday to around 83 to 84 dollars a barrel, its lowest level in three months, while the rupee gained 0.7 per cent to close at 95.11 against the dollar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on social media that he “welcomed the understanding reached between the United States and Iran,” and the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy remained the only way forward in the region.
The relief is real, but so are the worries. India sources roughly half its crude oil, around 70 per cent of its LPG and nearly 90 per cent of its LNG from West Asia, according to Global Trade Research Initiative founder Ajay Srivastava, who said the deal would bring “immediate economic relief.”
During the conflict, India had already rerouted close to 70 per cent of its crude imports away from Hormuz, largely by buying more Russian oil under temporary US sanctions waivers, a workaround that remains fragile. Petrol in Delhi had crossed 102 rupees a litre and LPG cylinders had risen by 29 rupees just last week. Experts say it could take months before pump prices actually fall for households, since oil firms are still recovering losses from the war.
Could Trump’s Iran Playbook Be A Warning For India’s Trade Talks?
Throughout the conflict, Trump set dramatic deadlines for Iran, at one point warning that its power plants and bridges could be wiped out within hours and that an entire civilisation risked being destroyed overnight. Each deadline was extended or quietly walked back before the sudden announcement of a deal once talks reached a workable point. India is watching this pattern closely, since it is in the middle of its own negotiations with Washington.
Trade Minister Piyush Goyal’s team has called the bilateral trade agreement 99 per cent complete after the latest round of talks in New Delhi this month. Experts say the Iran-US Peace Deal is a reminder that Trump mixes maximum pressure with rapid, theatrical announcements, a style Indian negotiators may need to factor in for the final stretch.
Who Else Stands To Gain? The China Question
China, which buys most of Iran’s oil exports, welcomed the agreement, with foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian saying Beijing “welcomes the US and Iran reaching an agreement” on the memorandum’s text. Analysts believe China could end up the bigger long term winner, given its deepening ties with Tehran, its likely role in Iran’s reconstruction, and its leverage over rare earth minerals the US depends on, all feeding into Beijing’s own trade talks with Washington.
The full text of the memorandum is not yet public, and Trump has indicated more details will emerge only after Friday’s signing. Whether the Iran-US Peace Deal holds through implementation, and whether it eases India’s energy bill in any lasting way, will become clear only in the weeks ahead.