Even as the United States and Iran inch closer to all-out war, glimmers of hope appeared on the diplomatic front, as Iran’s interior minister began a two-day visit to Pakistan Tuesday, which is a key mediator in the conflict.
Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, with expectations of meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later in the day, two officials said.
The moves comes after the U.S. conducted a new round of airstrikes against Iran on Monday after announcing the death of another American service member. Iran responded by launching attacks on American allies Kuwait and Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital supply route for world energy supplies – has largely stalled. As fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.
US launches 10th night of Iran strikes
The U.S. military’s Central Command said its 10th straight night of airstrikes targeted “Iranian military command centres, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks.”
Tehran has retaliated by hitting U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday morning, while Kuwait said its air defenses were firing at an incoming Iranian barrage.
The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded Monday above $86 a barrel.
Yemen embargo
Meanwhile, a new pressure point could emerge for world energy markets as Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced on Monday a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response for an attack on Sanaa International Airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked up, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market. The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked.
Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent days to resuscitate the interim ceasefire reached last month that called for resolving remaining issues tied to the war within 60 days. The truce unravelled after both sides resumed attacks on each other’s military installations and other infrastructure.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was expected to arrive in Pakistan late Monday, according to the two regional officials, though there was no official confirmation from Islamabad or Tehran.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.”
Insider insight
Mohammad Javad Zarif, a former Iranian foreign minister, said in an essay published Monday by Foreign Affairs that the interim deal “could never survive such dissonance” over the Strait of Hormuz.
“As the current conflict makes clear, Washington cannot eliminate the Iranian government,” Zarif wrote. “Only diplomacy, a new peace agreement, and a new security framework produced by regional states and for regional states will allow the United States to turn its attention elsewhere.”
However, Zarif, who helped elect the country’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, also warned the country’s theocracy that “if Iran repeatedly threatens maritime traffic, it could turn much of the world against it.”
Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of U.S. strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.
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