THE Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts in the region. It also included the termination of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Prime Minister Benjaman Nathenyahu remains determined to continue his unjustifiable aggression against the innocent Lebanese. He claims that eliminating Hezbollah is imperative for Israeli security, but in reality, he is determined to thwart peace efforts in the Middle East. Humanizing and controlling Netanyahu’s anarchist militant designs is the sole responsibility of the Trump Administration.
The optimistic development is that, despite the anarchists’ including Nathenyahu’s continuous efforts to derail the ceasefire between Iran and the US, the 14-point Islamabad MoU was electronically signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as mediator, on June 17/18 2026. Follow-up technical-level talks to iron out details started in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026. PM Shehbaz Sharif and COAS & CDF Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, along with US Vice President JD Vance and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, participated in the opening session of the talks to constitute and implement an agreement to end the Middle East war.
The Pakistani delegation held bilateral meetings with the participating delegations from Iran, Qatar, Switzerland and the US to reaffirm Pakistan’s enduring commitment to dialogue and durable peace in the region. Pakistani leadership expressed confidence in the positive outcome of the technical talks and its resolve to continue supporting and advancing the implementation of the understandings reached between Iran and the United States. Similarly, US Vice President JD Vance sounded optimistic. He said, “I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we’re to be focused on.” President Donald Trump is acting rationally. Despite the failure to accomplish his stated objective at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel, i.e., a change of regime in Iran to end completely the political system that has operated since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, according to the MoU, neither state will interfere in the other’s internal affairs. This reinforces the central point that the agreement constrains regional escalation. The survival of the Iranian political system means the survival of its allies—erstwhile called the axis of resistance in the region—that challenge Israeli aggressive designs in its neighborhood and also obstruct Netanyahu’s Greater Israel project.
Iran suffered immensely in the war but has emerged as a potent state in the Middle East. By defending against US and Israeli aggression, it exposed the ineffectiveness of the American security umbrella to the Arab Gulf States and strained US-Arab relations. As a result, the Arab states are now skeptical about the US Middle Eastern security architecture, which only protects Israel. They have experienced practically that the US bases on their territory and forces deployed in the region are only for the defense of Israel. Therefore, the US’s Middle East security arrangements increase Arab states’ vulnerabilities rather than enhance security.
During Israel’s and the US’s war against Iran, the dynamic forces in war frequently shifted President Trump’s goalposts because of Iran’s asymmetrical warfare strategy. The initial objective, regime change, transformed into a new one: the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran closed the Strait through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and LNG consumption flows, thereby destabilizing the regional and international economy. The American naval fleet failed to ensure the flow of trade, thereby allowing Iran to establish control over the Strait. After failing to open the Strait militarily and with coalition partners refusing to assist him, President Trump imposed a blockade, further affecting the global economy. Moreover, by exerting control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran thwarted a credible unilateral Trump declaration of victory. Islamabad MoU opened the Strait of Hormuz, but its closer established that its control lies in Tehran.
The controversy over Iran’s nuclear program was nearly settled before the US and Israel strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. Foreign Minister of Oman Badr Al Busaidi announced on February 26, 2026, that talks between Iran and the US in Geneva had made significant progress and that both sides agreed to resume technical-level discussions in Vienna the following week, potentially at the IAEA headquarters. Interestingly, last Sunday, a similar discussion started at Bürgenstock. The Iranian delegation is repeating the same assurances, i.e., Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon, downblends the 60% enriched 440kg uranium, permits the International Atomic Energy Agency’s comprehensive safeguards on its nuclear program and only pursues civilian (peaceful) nuclear ambitions as a member of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
While giving assurances on the nuclear program, Iran will safeguard its right to maintain and advance its conventional weapons industry, including missile and drone infrastructure. This capability raises concerns for US regional allies, particularly Israel. Besides, the US will also facilitate the release of a $300 billion fund for Iran’s reconstruction and economic development, supported by regional nations. Does it not sound very much like war reparations? The gradual end of US economic sanctions and the unlocking of frozen funds would drive an economic revolution in Iran, translating into greater political, economic, military, diplomatic and cultural significance for Iran in the Middle East.
To conclude, Pakistan’s spectacular mediation led to the Islamabad MoU and has begun technical-level talks in Bürgenstock to transform it into an agreement for a permanent peace in the Middle East. The US, Iran, Pakistan and Gulf states are sincerely engaged in chalking out a constructive way forward for regional political and economic stability, despite Nathenyahu’s efforts to further downgrade President Trump’s credibility in regional and international politics.
—The writer is Vice Chancellor of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
