Pakistan Mediators Deliver Iran Response to U.S. Offer — Iranian War
Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal through Pakistani mediators on Sunday, a move that puts the Iranian war back on the diplomatic track after days of drone incidents in Gulf airspace and at sea. Pakistan said it received Iran’s reply, while the White House had no immediate comment.
Washington’s proposal sought a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program. Iran wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, including in Lebanon, and on ensuring the security of shipping.
Pakistan Receives Iran Reply
The exchange moved through Pakistan rather than directly between Iran and the United States. That channel matters because the two sides are still testing whether talks can continue while pressure on the waterway and the airspace around the Gulf remains active.
Mike Waltz said President Donald Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities.” The statement from the U.S. side set the tone for the next round of bargaining: diplomacy remains open, but only on terms that address the war, the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.
Gulf Airspace And Maritime Pressure
The ceasefire was strained on Sunday when a drone ignited a small fire on a ship off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace. No casualties were reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called the incidents a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region.”
The drone incidents landed after months of similar operations. Iran and armed allied groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon have used drones to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28. The latest incidents also widened the pressure on shipping, which is already central to the ceasefire talks.
Hormuz, Tankers, And Uranium
The United States has blockaded Iranian ports since April 13, and on Friday it struck two Iranian oil tankers it said were trying to breach the blockade. On Sunday, the American military said it had turned back 61 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy warned that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships. An Iranian military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia, said Iranian forces were in “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where uranium is stored, adding that they might try to steal it through “infiltration operations or heli-borne operations.”
The nuclear file remains one of the hardest parts of the talks. The U.N. nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war isn’t over because the enriched uranium needs to be taken out of Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, met with the head of the joint military command and issued new and decisive directives for the continuation of operations and the powerful confrontation with the enemies. With Iran’s reply now in Pakistani hands, the next pressure point is whether the response opens room for talks or hardens the dispute over shipping, nuclear limits and the future of the war.
