UN Secretary-General António Guterres is hopeful that the United States and Iran would return to a Pakistan-brokered interim peace agreement, his spokesperson said on Friday, praising Islamabad for helping advance dialogue between the long-time foes.
The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was an interim agreement signed by the US and Iran in June following mediation by Pakistan after months of conflict. It sought to halt military operations and create a pathway toward a broader settlement, including negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions and regional security.
However, the US and Iran returned to fighting shortly after signing the interim deal and have since been locked in a stalemate. The renewed hostilities between the sides have once again affected cargo and energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil and gas markets and sending the prices higher.
To a question about Islamabad’s mediatory role in the conflict, Guterres spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the UN chief had been very clear in expressing his support and gratitude for the mediation efforts led by Pakistan, which provided a “period of calm, a period where energy and food and other items were flowing more easily through the strait.”
“I think it’s important to go back to that period. We understand, we’ve seen reports of various discussions going on, and we hope that they will bear fruit,” he told a press briefing in New York on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session.
The Islamabad MoU also envisaged an end to military operations on other fronts, including Lebanon, and the restoration of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The waterway is central to the conflict, which is at a stalemate after nearly seven months. But new mediation efforts at the UN’s gathering of world leaders in New York this week offered some optimism of progress toward a deal.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met for talks on Tuesday with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and previously set out conditions for ending the war and reopening the vital shipping channel.
“Iran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” Araghchi said at the UN.
“The choice now rests with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats, or intimidation, and Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure.
However, with hours of his comments The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had rejected the proposal, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
The report noted that the 80-year-old president was skeptical Tehran would meet his demands and added he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely.
Trump also posted an image to his Truth Social platform of a map showing the Strait of Hormuz circled and labelled “Trump Strait.”
Pakistan, which led a diplomatic push together with Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia to reach an interim deal, has consistently argued that diplomacy and dialogue offer the only sustainable route out of the conflict and has urged both sides to return to the framework established under the June agreement.