Pakistan Left Red-Faced After Iran Rules Out June 19 Ceremony Announced By Shehbaz Sharif

Published 18 June 2026 · world

Pakistan Left Red-Faced After Iran Rules Out June 19 Ceremony Announced By Shehbaz Sharif Reported By, Last Updated: June 18, 2026, 11:24 IST Sharif deleted

Pakistan Left Red-Faced After Iran Rules Out June 19 Ceremony Announced By Shehbaz Sharif Reported By, Last Updated: June 18, 2026, 11:24 IST Sharif deleted his claim that Pakistan would host a June 19 signing ceremony in Switzerland after Iran ruled out the event. Rapid Read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. (REUTERS) Pakistan has been left facing a diplomatic embarrassment after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif deleted an earlier post announcing that Islamabad would host an official US-Iran signing ceremony in Switzerland on June 19 and reposted it without that claim. The reversal came as Iran publicly clarified that the memorandum of understanding had been signed digitally by the presidents of the United States and Iran and that no signing ceremony would be held in Switzerland. In the paragraph subsequently removed from his post on X, Sharif had said: “Pakistan, with the support of co-mediator the State of Qatar, will host the official ceremony as scheduled on 19 June 2026 in Switzerland, to commemorate this landmark event and commence with the technical level talks." 🚨🚨بریکنگ نیوز ،شہبازشریف نے اپنا پہلا ٹویٹ ڈیلیٹ کردیانئے ٹویٹ میں سوئٹزر لینڈ کی تقریب کا ذکر نکال دیا گیاپہلے ٹویٹ کا وہ حصہ جو ڈیلیٹ کردیا گیا 👇Pakistan with the support of co-mediator State of Qatar will host the official ceremony as scheduled on 19 June 2026 in… pic.twitter.com/ZPoAvik8Mz — Mukhtar Hassan (@mukhtarhassan56) June 18, 2026 Sharif’s revised post retained his claim that the agreement had been “endorsed by me as the mediator", but omitted the entire paragraph concerning Pakistan’s role as host of the proposed ceremony.

The deletion has raised questions over how closely Islamabad was coordinating with the two principal parties to an agreement that it has presented as a major Pakistani diplomatic achievement. I am honoured to announce that the historic ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ has been electronically signed today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Memorandum has been signed by honourable Presidents of both the countries and also…— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 18, 2026 Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei had earlier said that the memorandum would be signed digitally and that a signing ceremony would not take place in Switzerland. “The plan for the negotiating teams to be in Geneva is in place, but the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding will be digital and a signing ceremony will not be held in Switzerland," Baqaei was quoted as saying by Iran’s Tasnim news agency. He subsequently confirmed that the text had been finalised after being signed by both sides. The Iranian statement directly contradicted Sharif’s announcement that Pakistan would host an official signing ceremony in Switzerland on June 19. What Shehbaz Sharif Initially Announced In an earlier post on June 15, Sharif announced that the United States and Iran had reached a peace agreement and that the official signing ceremony would be held in Switzerland on June 19.