ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s efforts to stop the Iran war have approached a “critical stage,” Iran’s Ambassador in Islamabad Reza Amiri Moghadam said on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen a critical global oil supply route looms closer.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high after Trump said on Monday Iran “can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow [Tuesday].” The American president has vowed to destroy Iranian power plants and infrastructure if Tehran refuses to make a deal before the deadline expires.
The US president has demanded Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil supply route, which Tehran has blocked for oil and gas trade.
Iran’s official state news agency IRNA said on Monday that Tehran responded to a US proposal through mediator Pakistan, rejecting a ceasefire and calling for a permanent end to the war instead. Pakistan has been relaying messages between Washington and Tehran in hopes of brokering a ceasefire between the two sides.
“Pakistan’s positive and productive endeavors in goodwill and good office to stop the war [are] approaching a critical, sensitive stage,” Moghadam wrote on social media platform X.
“Stay tuned for more,” he added without elaborating further.
A Reuters report, citing a source, said a day earlier that Pakistan had put together a framework to end hostilities and exchanged it with Iran and the US.
The report said that the proposal entailed an immediate ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with 15–20 days to finalize a broader settlement.
The deal, tentatively dubbed the “Islamabad Accord,” would also include a regional framework for the strait, with final in-person talks in Islamabad.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through via ships, in response to the US and Israel’s attacks against it which began in February.
Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz has driven global oil prices higher, pushing countries such as Pakistan to undertake measures to conserve fuel and demand an immediate ceasefire to the ongoing war.
Fighting in Iran continued on Tuesday, with the Israeli military saying it had completed a wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian government infrastructure in Tehran and other areas.
The situation continues to rattle global oil markets, with oil prices hovering around $110 per barrel on Tuesday ahead of Trump’s deadline and Iran showing no visible signs of reopening the strait.
Brent crude futures rose 0.4 percent to $110.19 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 0.8 percent to $113.31.
Pakistan, like several other countries, has hiked fuel prices and taken measures to conserve energy and mitigate the adverse economic impact of the war.
