US and Iran Agree to Extend Ceasefire as Islamabad MoU 60-Day Deadline Nears

The United States and Iran have agreed to extend their ceasefire as the 60-day negotiation window under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding approaches its end next week, Pakistani government sources told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

The Islamabad MoU, signed in mid-June 2026 by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif acting as mediator, established an immediate halt to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and set a maximum 60-day period, extendable by mutual consent, to negotiate a final comprehensive deal. That framework also addressed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, and related economic and nuclear issues.

Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi noted in a briefing that the 60-day deadline is approaching, with about five days remaining, but stressed that it “can be extended” and that Islamabad is “not closing the chapter,” expressing hope that the parties will return to dialogue. The MoU has faced repeated challenges since its signing, including mutual accusations of violations, temporary escalations, and periods in which the United States described the agreement as effectively over while Iran continued to treat it as the sole legitimate framework.

Pakistan has been actively working to revive mediation efforts. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi recently held talks in Tehran with Iranian counterparts, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Pezeshkian, as part of efforts to breathe new life into the process. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has separately indicated the sides are nearing “some sort of an arrangement.”

The original MoU, brokered primarily by Pakistan with support from Qatar and other regional partners, marked a significant diplomatic intervention aimed at ending months of hostilities that had disrupted global energy markets and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Follow-up high-level talks in Switzerland in late June produced a roadmap and mechanisms such as a high-level committee and a Lebanon de-confliction cell, but implementation has remained fragile.

Further details on the length or specific terms of any extension were not immediately available.