Pakistan, June 14 -- After more than 100 days of the most dangerous direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran in decades, the war may finally have found a diplomatic off-ramp. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's announcement that the United States and Iran have agreed on the wording of a memorandum to end the conflict places Islamabad at the centre of an endgame that few would have predicted when the fighting began.

The proposed understanding appears to offer both sides a face-saving exit. President Donald Trump can claim that pressure pushed Iran back to the table and reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran can argue that it did not surrender its sovereignty, that sanctions relief and frozen assets remain on the table, and that the n...