Trump floats a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Trump floated a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a senior official said.
Under the plan, the United States would continue its blockade on Iranian ports, while coordinating with allies to impose higher costs on Iran’s attempts to subvert the free flow of energy, according to a senior administration official.
Trump is weighing multiple diplomatic and policy options to push Iran to end its chokehold on the waterway, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly.
President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a phone call Wednesday, renewed his offer for Russia to serve as a third country that could deal with Iran’s 970 pounds of enriched uranium that the US leader is demanding Tehran must surrender.
“He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment - if he can help us get it, “Trump said Putin
told him. “I said, I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.’ To me, that would be more important.” Meanwhile, the Kremlin warned of dire consequences’ if hostilities against Iran resume.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran war in a phone call with Trump on Wednesday, with the Kremlin stressing the “dire consequences”if hostilities resumed. Speaking to journalists, presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin had told the US president that a ground operation on Iranian territory would be completely “unacceptable and dangerous.”
Pak actively mediating US-Iran peace talks
Pakistan on Thursday said that it was actively engaged with the US and Iran to end the war in West Asia and restore peace and stability in the region and beyond.
“Anything that passes through the conduit of diplomatic channels in Pakistan is honestly communicated to the other side,” Foreign Office Spokesperson
Tahir Andrabi said at the weekly briefing.
He added that the clock on diplomacy has not stopped but is functional.
“We are in contact with the relevant parties on the matter. Regarding negotiations, both new and old proposals are on the table. We hope peace will prevail,” Andrabi said, referring to efforts to bring about an end to hostilities between the two countries. Andrabi said that Pakistan was hopeful of a negotiated settlement of this issue, emphasising that “we encourage direct negotiations between the two sides”.
He expressed hope for “stable relations between Iran and the US”. The statement came after the second round of talks between the US and Iran could not materialise despite Pakistan’s hectic efforts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made two brief visits to Pakistan within 48 hours over the weekend, meeting with Field Marshal Asim Munir and PM Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the regional situation.
