Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that the United States and Iran are close to reaching “some sort of an arrangement,” raising fresh hopes of a breakthrough in the prolonged conflict over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Things are shaping up again in favour of a peace arrangement or a deal,” Asif told Bloomberg News in Islamabad. “The signals in the last two or three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement,” he added, without offering further details of any specific breakthrough. He said a lasting peace would serve the wider interest of the region.
The comments came even as both Washington and Tehran appeared to harden their public positions in recent days. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said Iran “must pay” for damage caused by earlier attacks, accusing Tehran of seeking compensation for losses from the five-month military conflict despite the issue not being raised during negotiations. Trump maintained the conflict began because Iran would not give up pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Separately, talks between Iran and Oman on reopening the Strait of Hormuz to some maritime shipping have reportedly reached an advanced stage, according to a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry cited by Al Jazeera.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was also set to arrive in Tehran for talks with his Iranian counterpart, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, as Islamabad continues its mediation role alongside Qatar and Oman.
Asked to respond to Asif’s remarks, the White House pointed reporters back to Trump’s Monday comments from the Oval Office, in which he insisted the US controls the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran’s economy is suffering as a result of the war.
Oil prices eased following Asif’s comments, extending a pattern of volatile market reaction to the conflicting signals from both sides over recent weeks.
— Daily Archives, World Desk