Islamabad’s attempt to act as a mediator in the West Asia crisis has stalled after Iran refused to meet any US-led delegation in Pakistan, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tehran also rejected a set of US demands as unacceptable, reducing the prospects for a rapid settlement.
Pakistan had presented itself as a diplomatic broker and said it relayed messages to both Tehran and Washington. But a significant lack of trust left Iran unwilling to let Islamabad play a negotiating role. Reports that Qatar might take on a mediation role offered a degree of cautious optimism.
Tensions have climbed after reports that a US airman went missing following an aircraft downed by Iran and the loss of a US A-10. When asked by The Independent about possible US responses if the airman were harmed or captured, President Donald Trump declined to specify a course of action, saying only that he hoped such an outcome would not occur.
Iran has said its forces carried out what it described as ‘Wave 93’ of retaliatory strikes targeting US–Israel interests. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed precise strikes on Israeli military staging areas deep inside the occupied territories, identifying locations in Western Galilee, Haifa, Kafr Kanna and the Krayot region.
A senior Iranian security official told Press TV that Iran can sustain current disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz for years. The official said Tehran’s heightened sensitivity over the waterway is driven by the fact that much equipment used to supply US military bases across the region has historically been shipped by sea, and that Iran believes such logistical support should no longer be permitted.
The combination of Iran’s rejection of Pakistan’s mediation, public claims of continued strikes, and threats to maritime routes makes a swift diplomatic resolution less likely and raises the risk of prolonged regional disruption.
