From Years of Hostility to the Path of Peace: The Journey of Iran-US Relations and the Historic 2026 Agreement

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Special Analytical Report by Pakistan Times Live

Islamabad: June 17, 2026


On Friday, June 19, a historic signing ceremony will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, where the United States and Iran will sign an initial agreement. This agreement will begin a 60-day negotiation process, restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and pave the way to end the three-month-long bloody war. Pakistan is hosting this ceremony, having led the mediation in these peace talks.


But the path to this peace has not been easy. It comes after years of tension, mistrust, and bloodshed.


In 2015, the United States, Iran, and six world powers signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under this agreement, Iran limited its uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent and opened its nuclear facilities to international inspection. In return, economic sanctions on Iran were lifted.


However, in 2018, Donald Trump withdrew the United States from this agreement, calling it terrible. Trump said that this agreement could not prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. Immediately after this decision, the United States began imposing new sanctions on Iran.


In April 2019, Trump designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization, marking the first time the US had named another country's military in this way. In May 2019, Iran withdrew from the JCPOA and began increasing its enriched uranium production. In January 2020, IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. In response, Iran launched ballistic missile attacks on US military bases in Iraq.


Between 2021 and 2024, Iran increased uranium enrichment to 60 percent, which is only one technical step away from weapons-grade level. In February 2025, Trump reinstated the maximum pressure policy on Iran at the start of his second term.


On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran, during which Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was martyred in the early moments. From March to May 2026, the war rapidly spread across the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz was closed, oil prices reached $120 per barrel, and thousands of people lost their lives.


In April 2026, Pakistan hosted the first direct talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad. On April 8, a two-week ceasefire was reached, but it quickly broke down. On June 14, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf electronically signed the agreement. On June 16, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced in the National Assembly that a formal signing ceremony would take place on June 19 in Geneva, with Pakistan hosting.


This agreement is not a detailed document like the JCPOA. US Vice President JD Vance has described it as a brief memorandum of understanding, only one and a half pages long. Its key points include the immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, beginning a 60-day negotiation process, Iran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and the US lifting its naval blockade of Iran.


However, the agreement does not include limits on Iran's ballistic missile program, ending Iran's support for proxy forces in the region, immediate return of Iran's frozen assets, or Israel's consent.


Pakistan has not only mediated the negotiations but is also hosting the signing ceremony in Geneva on June 19. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will travel to Geneva on Thursday.


The biggest weakness of this agreement is Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly declared that Israel is not bound by this agreement. Israel continues its operations in southern Lebanon, while Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition of the agreement, creating a fundamental contradiction.


This agreement is proof of Pakistan's diplomatic power. Pakistan has accomplished what major powers failed to do. It has proven that problems can be solved through diplomacy and negotiation.


Pakistan Times Live is closely monitoring the June 19 signing ceremony and all subsequent developments.

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