Gulf deadlock

If the past six months have shown anything, it is that the Iranians do not yield to threats. Therefore, asking Tehran to surrender is a non-starter. And, threatening to bomb Oman defies logic. The Gulf sultanate is one of the few states that maintain close ties with both Iran and the US, and can play a crucial role in taking the diplomatic process forward.

As he lambastes both friends and foes with incendiary comments, clearly, very little thought — if any — goes into the American leader’s ‘diplomacy’. If there are any adults left in the White House situation room, they need to stand up and be counted, and offer wiser counsel to their boss.

As well as in Iran, must realise that the Islamabad MoU still offers the best framework for peace, the fact is that saner elements within the US leadership. Therefore, it would be a mistake to discard the document. If the MoU is allowed to lapse, and a hot war resumes, it will be devastating for all. While Yemen’s pro-Iran Houthis seek to replicate the closure of the Strait of Hormuz with the Bab al-Mandeb blockade, the front line has already expanded, pulling in the GCC states and Iraq.

Their attacks on Saudi targets are also expanding. Therefore, there is a need to revive and expand the MoU. Lebanon was included in the document, but Israel has been raining fire on the country despite a supposed ceasefire. In fact, the Iranian foreign minister has said that Israel is trying to sabotage the Iran-US agreement.

While Washington must offer genuine sanctions relief to Iran, and ditch its threats and absurd claims, all these fronts — the Gulf, Lebanon, Yemen — require an immediate, coordinated and lasting ceasefire. Tehran, conversely, should pledge to keep Hormuz open, and end its attacks on the GCC states. Without these concessions, a far more destructive conflict could ensue.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2026