United States (US) and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to halt their military conflict and reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, triggering a sharp drop in global oil prices.<\/p>\n
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The breakthrough framework, mediated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, marks the most significant diplomatic turn since the conflict erupted in February following joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran. A formal memorandum of understanding is set to be signed in Switzerland this Friday.<\/p>\n
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US President Donald Trump confirmed the truce on Sunday evening, writing on social media that the deal was “now complete.”<\/p>\n
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According to statements from the mediator and Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, the pact mandates an immediate, permanent cessation of military operations across all fronts, including Lebanon. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for global energy shipping, will be lifted on Friday, alongside the termination of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.<\/p>\n
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Responding to the announcement, Brent crude futures plunged by 4% in early Monday trading, while Asian stock markets rallied.<\/p>\n
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The agreement establishes a 60-day ceasefire period, during which negotiators will attempt to hammer out a more comprehensive treaty. Crucial, highly contentious issues have been deferred to these upcoming sessions, including the eventual dismantling or dilution of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile and the details of international sanctions relief.<\/p>\n
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The deal has drawn a mixed domestic reaction in Washington. Critics argue the administration has made major concessions merely to restore the pre-war status quo, while political allies note the intense pressure Trump faced over soaring fuel costs ahead of November’s mid-term elections.<\/p>\n
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There has been no immediate official reaction from Israel. Relations between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have grown strained recently over American demands to curb military action in Lebanon to facilitate this diplomatic breakthrough.<\/p>\n
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International leaders have cautiously welcomed the cessation of hostilities. In a joint statement, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy indicated their readiness to lift sanctions in exchange for “clear, verifiable steps” to limit Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressing that full freedom of navigation must be restored to the region immediately.<\/p>\n
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–Reuters–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31569,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-37099","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"US and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to halt their military conflict and reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz","published_date":"2026-06-15 08:28:40","news_description":"US and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to halt their military conflict and reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37106,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/37099\/revisions\/37106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=37099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}