bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
        published
      }
      ... on VideoSection {
        name
        published
      }
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        relatedNewsletters {
          ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
          id
        }
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
  ... on Video {
    youtubeId
  }
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on SectionUnion {
  __isSectionUnion: __typename
  ... on Section {
    name
  }
  ... on VideoSection {
    name
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        entityId
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        entityId
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        entityId
      }
      ... on VideoSection {
        entityId
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
      }
      ... on VideoSection {
        name
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


types

sectionsV2

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

Nayan Seth

Mark Magnier

Carol Yang

US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Sunday that a landmark agreement has been reached with Iran to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz and end the US naval blockade.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!” Trump posted on social media without providing any details of the agreement.
“I hereby fully authorise the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorise the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade.”
“Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he wrote.
Minutes later, however, the mercurial president said that the strait would open only after the signing of the deal on Friday “for purposes of mine removal”, at which point “oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World!” he added.
Sharif, who has played a central role in diplomatic mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran, also confirmed that both nations had reached a comprehensive peace agreement, although how comprehensive that is remains to be seen. According to Sharif, the accord mandates an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
“The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland,” he wrote on social media. “Mediators will facilitate a series of meetings this week. These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony.”
Even as markets welcomed the news, analysts expressed reservations about how durable the deal was, and questioned why its terms were not released, noting that China was likely to come out a big winner from the 107-day crisis.
“Beijing is well positioned to benefit from an agreement that brings Iran in from the cold,” said Jeremy Chan, senior analyst with the Eurasia Group. “And doubly so if it harms US prestige globally.”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that a 60-day period to discuss the country’s nuclear programme and US sanctions would begin only after both sides fulfil their commitment of ending the war, lifting the blockade and unfreezing Iranian assets.
“We will monitor the implementation of US commitments,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
An unidentified Trump administration official on Friday said that the Iranian nuclear programme would be addressed in the 60-day “technical period.”
“It leads to the United States getting the enriched material … this material would be destroyed on site and then taken out of the country,” the official added.
World leaders welcome breakthrough
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the agreement, saying that the attention should now shift to the implementation.
“We stand ready to support the technical talks that will now begin,” he posted on social media.

In a joint statement, France, UK, Germany and Italy termed the deal a “moment of opportunity” to restore regional stability and promised to lift sanctions on Iran provided it takes “clear, verifiable steps.”
“Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. We stand ready to work with the US, Iran and the IAEA to this end. We are prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme,” the statement added.
In a post on social media, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hoped that the initial agreement would be “steadily implemented” and “free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz will be actually ensured.”
The deal could bring a tentative end to more than three months of intense hostilities that began in late February, when joint US and Israeli forces launched a massive wave of air strikes against Iranian military and leadership targets under the code name Operation Epic Fury.
The initial strikes, which resulted in the assassination of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggered immediate, wide and surprisingly robust retaliation from Tehran. Over the following months, Iran deployed ballistic missiles and drones against US military installations and regional bases across the Middle East.
The most severe global fallout of the war came when the conflict effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint for fuel shipments – leading to the disruption of around 20 per cent of global oil and natural gas supplies.
The strait blockade triggered what the International Energy Agency described as one of the worst energy security crises in history, driving up global fuel and freight costs, fracturing shipping routes, and fuelling inflation worldwide.
In May, Tehran established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, enforcing a permit system that allows vetted commercial ships to resume passage, while revealing plans to levy transit tolls on future vessel traffic, a move that drew strong opposition from the US.
The agreement announcement on Sunday follows a fragile, temporary truce that was brokered by regional mediators and extended in mid-April.
Despite the temporary ceasefire, the US and Iran have continued to exchange intermittent fire in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Israeli forces remain locked in combat with Hezbollah along the Lebanese border, a flashpoint that threatens to derail any broader regional de-escalation.
Analysts voiced reservations about terms and implementation of the deal, which was announced after weeks of teased messaging by Trump that a resolution was imminent.
“It certainly seems like this is more real than past claims that we have a deal, but I guess my general sense is that it still seems like the two sides have agreed to different deals, even if they’ve agreed to the same text,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis with Defence Priorities Foundation.
“It seems like any terms are worded in such a way that they lend themselves to multiple interpretations about timing, about the condition of the Strait, whether it’s actually open, whether Iran controls it, about what’s expected for Iran in order to get the financial incentives.”
Global markets welcomed the news. Oil prices fell more than four per cent on Sunday as word of the agreement spread.
“Futures very likely accelerate positively,” said Terry Haines, founder of Pangaea Policy, a risk advisory firm. “Markets should now watch for implementation or backsliding in the next 48-72 hours.”
But analysts questioned why the terms were not released, why they are waiting until Friday to have a signing ceremony, whether plans for more substantive talks over nuclear fuel and other thorny issues will bear fruit, whether tolls will be charged for ships transiting the strategic waterway and whether this ultimately amounts to much more than a ceasefire.
Some also questioned the cost of a war that Trump and Israel had started.
“For 100 days we’ve been hearing constantly, there’s going to be a deal,” said Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, shortly before it was announced on Sunday, which was Trump’s 80th birthday. “The president wants to give himself a birthday present, and we have paid for it with hundreds of billions of dollars.”
But even a vague agreement was a start, analysts said, noting that vague wording had its place in heated negotiations, provided it elicited results.
In this case, the lack of clarity allows the Trump administration to sell the deal, such as it is, to the US public on an unpopular war as a win amid a looming US midterm election and rising inflation, analysts said. It also gives the Pentagon leeway to return to war if Trump feels Iran is not living up to its side of the bargain.
And it allows Tehran to tout to its citizenry on how much Iran has won, whether true or not, how it held out against the world’s strongest military, how it survived against all odds.
“There are reasons why ambiguity is useful to both sides,” said Kavanagh. But “I guess I’m a little bit sceptical that we’ve actually achieved much.”
More fundamental fallout from this conflict could take months and years to play out.
China has come out relatively well, analysts said.
It has reduced its oil consumption, proved itself resilient, spent down less of its massive reserves than other economies and will benefit in any accelerated push for renewables. It also walked a fine line successfully as Iran’s largest energy customer even as its future rests with US-allied Gulf States that Iran attacked.
The economic and military equation has also changed, they added. Well into the future, there is less certainty that Iran – or other nations located near strategic waterways – will refrain from holding the world hostage, feeding into a shift in defence doctrine with the advent of drones and other asymmetric weaponry. Some of the vulnerability of widespread US bases also has been called into question.
The US, meanwhile, long the undisputed world’s most powerful military, has seen its power checked by Iran, a country with 2 per cent of its economic power measured in nominal GDP. That is likely to raise questions among allies and adversaries about its ability to pursue well-reasoned and stable policy – perhaps even calling into question any future effective defence of Taiwan, said Kavanagh.
“China weathered the conflict very well. They proved that they had significant resilience,” she added. “I think this is really a turning point for the US geopolitically. There are serious questions now.”
Kavanagh, formerly with the RAND Corporation, added: “I don’t think that the US is going to vanish from the scene. It will take time for this to manifest, for the US to be forced to withdraw from some commitments. But that would be opening up a period of instability where the US will maybe act even more unpredictably.”


US, Pakistan announce peace deal with Iran is ‘complete’

The conflict ground shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill. Photo: AP

Iranians walk past a hoarding featuring Iran’s national flag at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran on Sunday. Photo: AFP

News

China

Diplomacy

Agreement set to end US naval blockade and establish 60-day window to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme


Agreement set to end US naval blockade and establish 60-day window to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme.


US-Israel war on Iran

US, Pakistan announce peace deal with Iran is ‘complete’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Agreement set to end US naval blockade and establish 60-day window to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme

Agreement set to end US naval blockade and establish 60-day window to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme