# Sharif signs the 'Islamabad MoU' as guarantor of the US-Iran ceasefire > Pakistan recasts itself from war-adjacent bystander to lead mediator; Pezeshkian's thank-you visit and Nobel chatter follow a 14-point deal reopening Hormuz and extending the truce **Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-18 · heads: كيف تنتهي الحروب فعلاً, اللعبة الطويلة · 13 takes · 4 lenses · 5 regions ## Summary [Shehbaz Sharif](/ar/entity/shehbaz-sharif) positioned [Pakistan](/ar/entity/pakistan) as lead mediator of the deal ending the 2026 US-Israel-Iran war. On 18 June 2026 he signed the "Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding" as guarantor, alongside [Donald Trump](/ar/entity/donald-trump) (signing remotely after the G7) and Iran's [Masoud Pezeshkian](/ar/entity/masoud-pezeshkian) (in Tehran). The 14-point framework halts strikes, reopens the [Strait of Hormuz](/ar/entity/strait-of-hormuz) toll-free for 60 days, lifts the US naval blockade and opens a negotiation track; Pakistan's team was Sharif, Field Marshal [Asim Munir](/ar/entity/asim-munir) and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar. Follow-on US-Iran talks at Bürgenstock on 21-22 June produced a "roadmap" to a final deal within 60 days. Pezeshkian then made a state visit to Islamabad on 23 June — his first foreign trip since the strikes — read as a thank-you. Pakistani business and media voices have floated a Nobel Peace Prize for Sharif and Munir, even as critics note Islamabad's underlying economic dependence. ## By the numbers - 14 — points in the Islamabad MoU framework. - 18 June — MoU signing; 21-22 June — Bürgenstock follow-on talks; 23 June — Pezeshkian's Islamabad visit. - 60 days — toll-free Hormuz reopening, ceasefire extension and the deadline for a final deal. - ~$300bn — reported Iran reconstruction fund; ~$12bn — frozen Iranian funds to be released. - ~300 / ~70 — size of the US (led by VP Vance) and Iranian (led by Ghalibaf) delegations. ## Why it matters For [Shehbaz Sharif](/ar/entity/shehbaz-sharif), guarantor status is a diplomatic upgrade that offsets Pakistan's [fiscal fragility](/ar/n/pakistan-budget-2026-27-imf) and its [rivalry with India](/ar/n/india-pakistan-isolation-backfire) — putting Islamabad at the centre of a Gulf war's exit just as [Asim Munir](/ar/entity/asim-munir)'s military profile rises. The deal's durability rests on a 60-day clock that could still slip back into conflict. ## What to watch - Whether the Bürgenstock "roadmap" yields a final US-Iran deal inside the 60-day window. - Whether Hormuz stays open and the US blockade stays lifted. - How far the mediator role translates into US or Gulf economic relief for Pakistan. - The domestic politics of elevating Sharif and Munir (the Nobel campaign) against PTI opposition. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### unlabelled - **Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan** (Pakistan, en) — Pakistan PMO's own posting around the Islamabad MoU signing and Pezeshkian's visit — the government's primary record of Sharif's mediator/guarantor role. Source: https://x.com/PakPMO/status/2068583337145549280 - **Express Tribune** (Pakistan, en) — Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2613829/pm-shehbaz-signs-islamabad-mou-as-mediator-between-us-and-iran - **Express Tribune** (Pakistan, en) — Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2613815/pm-shehbaz-announces-signing-of-islamabad-mou-by-us-iranian-leadership - **Geo News** (Pakistan, en) — Source: https://www.geo.tv/latest/669718-us-iranian-delegations-meet-pakistani-mediators-ahead-of-much-anticipated-talks - **Pakistan Today** (Pakistan, en) — Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/06/18/pm-shehbaz-tells-pezeshkian-islamabad-mou-will-help-rebuild-iran - **The Nation** (Pakistan, en) — Source: https://www.nation.com.pk/23-Jun-2026/iran-president-arrives-pakistan-today - **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/23/irans-president-lands-in-pakistan-after-crucial-talks-with-us - **NPR** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/21/g-s1-129222/us-iran-deal-lebanon-israel-strait-hormuz-jd-vance - **Bloomberg** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-23/iran-president-to-visit-pakistan-following-historic-deal-with-us - **Xinhua** (China, en) — Source: https://english.news.cn/20260618/1a8120d4e17f423687ff53ddadfedd06/c.html ### mainstream Pakistani / cautious - **Dawn** (Pakistan, en) — Pakistan's paper of record on the Islamabad MoU and Pezeshkian's visit — credits Pakistan's mediation while keeping a measured distance from the more triumphal Nobel-and-glory framing carried elsewhere in the local press. > "Pakistan's role as guarantor of the Islamabad MoU is cast as a diplomatic elevation for Islamabad after the Iran war." Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/2009504 ### establishment-friendly / celebratory - **Geo News** (Pakistan, en) — Foregrounds Sharif's announcement that Iran will reopen Hormuz and the US lift its blockade under the deal — the celebratory establishment framing of Pakistan as indispensable peacemaker, light on the deal's fragility. > "PM Shehbaz says Iran to reopen Hormuz and the US to lift the blockade under the Islamabad MoU." Source: https://www.geo.tv/latest/669232-pm-shehbaz-says-iran-to-reopen-hormuz-us-to-lift-blockade ### Indian / scepticism of Pakistan's pivot - **Outlook India** (India, en) — Indian framing notes Pakistan signing as guarantor alongside Trump and Pezeshkian — and reads the pivot from distress to peacemaker against Islamabad's own economic dependence, the neighbourhood's sceptical counter-narrative. > "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding as a guarantor; signatures of US President Donald Trump and Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian are present." Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/international/mediator-pakistan-signs-us-iran-peace-memorandum-2 ## Across the graph - Related: [[iran-us-ceasefire-mou]], [[pakistan-budget-2026-27-imf]], [[india-pakistan-isolation-backfire]] - Entities: Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan, Asim Munir, Masoud Pezeshkian, Donald Trump --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ar/n/pakistan-islamabad-mou-mediation