Efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran continue as a fragile ceasefire risks collapsing after the U.S. seized a boat bound for Iran at the weekend and Tehran closes the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile Tehran has refused to attend a new round of peace talks in Pakistan.
Tehran accuses Washington of breaching a two-week pause by continuing with a naval blockade and intercepting ships heading to its ports.
A research scholar at Western Caspian University, Sheraz Mehmood Khan, told AnewZ the situation is changing “hour by hour”, with tensions rising on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The ceasefire was only meant to last a few days,” he said. “Now we are seeing actions from both sides that are undermining it.”
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but vital waterway for global oil supplies, has become the centre of the crisis. The U.S. has tightened a blockade on Iranian shipping, while Iran has responded with its own restrictions.
Commercial vessels, including European ships, have been caught in the middle.
Disruption in the strait has already pushed up oil prices and unsettled global markets.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he's spoken with Iran’s leadership, while he said the country’s military has helped facilitate earlier talks by providing secure corridors for delegations.
Khan said Pakistan is in a rare position of trust with both sides. It shares a long border and close ties with Iran, while also maintaining strong relations with the U.S.
“Pakistan can offer a platform where both sides feel secure enough to talk,” he said.
But mediation alone may not be enough he said. Khan pointed to China as a potential guarantor of any deal, given its economic interests in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
He noted that the waterway is crucial for China’s energy imports and its wider Belt and Road investments.
With the ceasefire nearing its end on Tuesday, the next 24 hours are seen as critical.
Officials in Islamabad are preparing for talks, though it remains unclear whether Iran will attend.
Rising fuel prices and fears of a wider conflict are being felt far beyond the Gulf.
“Everyone wants this to end,” Khan said. “But right now, trust is very low, and that makes any agreement much harder.”
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The Israeli-U.S. invasion of Iran, which began on 28 February, entered its seventh month on Friday, as Tehran wrapped up a week of high-level visits the region, with officials from Pakistan, Oman and Qatar helping to negotiate a way out of the current stalemate in the conflict.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
The Israeli-U.S. invasion of Iran, which began on 28 February, entered its seventh month on Friday, as Tehran wrapped up a week of high-level visits the region, with officials from Pakistan, Oman and Qatar helping to negotiate a way out of the current stalemate in the conflict.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Tehran is ready to establish joint security arrangements with neighbouring countries relying on the experience it gained from the wars imposed on the Islamic Republic.
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