ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday a ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran was "still in force" and efforts were underway to reach an agreement to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
Pakistan hosted direct talks between top US and Iranian officials in Islamabad, their first in decades, over the weekend against the backdrop of the fragile ceasefire agreed on April 8 that offered a lull in the war.
While the negotiations continued for more than 20 hours, they failed to produce a deal to end the war that has seen Iran attack Israel and US interests in the Gulf, disrupting global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and threatening global economy.
In his televised comments, Sharif said his country was honored to help both sides reach a ceasefire and mediate the talks to re-establish peace and harmony at a time when the global economy has been suffering.
"As I am speaking with you, efforts are ongoing to resolve the issues that are stuck somewhere," he said, describing the weekend talks in Islamabad as a "historical event."
Since the talks in Islamabad, Pakistan and several other world countries have urged both sides to uphold the ceasefire and offered their assistance to bring about a diplomatic settlement to the issue.
However, US President Donald Trump has said that he does not care if Iran comes back to the negotiations.
“I don’t care if they come back or not. If they don’t come back, I’m fine,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, following his threat on Sunday to block the State of Hormuz that sent oil prices back above $100 a barrel.
The US military will enforce a blockade in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz that will apply to all vessel traffic regardless of flag, the US Central Command said in a note to seafarers seen by Reuters on Monday.
The note said the blockade would come into effect at 1400 GMT on Monday.
"Any vessel entering or departing the blockaded area without authorization is subject to interception, diversion, and capture," the note said.
"The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations."
The blockade adds to uncertainty around how ships will transit the crucial waterway, used to move one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies.
