Finally, after what appeared to be numerous failed attempts, an agreement has been reached between the US and Iran. Both parties have predictably declared success.
US President Donald Trump triumphantly stated: "This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region."
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, praised what he described as his nation's military accomplishments as he confirmed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.
All parties, including mediator Pakistan, assert that the agreement will result in the removal of both Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the US embargo on Iranian ports, although this might not happen immediately.
That will help ease pressure on Trump regarding the damage to the global economy caused by the former, while Iran's struggling economy will find some relief from the latter.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—who initially announced the deal—stated that the accord also demands the "immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
That could prove challenging. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thus far shown no indication of being willing to halt Israel's current offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In fact, twice in the past week alone, Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs in retaliation for Hezbollah rockets entering northern Israel nearly derailed the entire process. Iran only narrowly avoided responding with another missile attack on Israel to finalize the agreement.
Thus, it remains uncertain whether the deal will offer a reprieve for Lebanon, where two recent ceasefires have failed to hold.
However, for Iran's Arab Gulf neighbors, there will be a feeling of relief that, at least for now, the threat of Iranian missiles targeting them could end—a tactic that has raised doubts about the very foundation of the economic model pursued by the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
As for the most critical component of any deal from the US standpoint, it remains unclear at this point how thoroughly this agreement establishes guarantees and mechanisms to prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon.
That was the threat the US and Israel claimed they were addressing by going to war. There are signs from what Iranian state media has reported as being in the deal that such a mechanism may have been created, but this requires clarification and is likely to be the focus of intense negotiations after the agreement is signed.
That ceremony is still several days away. Given all the dramatic twists and turns this process has undergone in recent weeks, no one can be certain that the path to that day will be smooth.
But for now, some of the uncertainty surrounding the conflict—which for weeks fluctuated between ceasefire and military confrontation—has at least been partially resolved.