Pakistan is playing a key role in facilitating talks between the US and Iran, but the future of these negotiations remains uncertain. Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, no dates have been set for a second round of discussions.
US President Donald Trump received a red carpet welcome in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade, the Iran war, and other key issues. The visit underscores the importance both nations place on their relationship amid ongoing tensions.
Iran has submitted its latest proposal aimed at advancing negotiations to end the ongoing West Asia conflict with the US, days after the Islamic Republic submitted a fresh proposal through regional intermediaries to cease its military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which is likely to get rejected by Washington.
As Iran heads into crucial peace talks with the United States of America, here are the six men who decide the Islamic Republic's course.
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are travelling to Pakistan for direct talks with an Iranian delegation as part of efforts to end the seven-week war, the White House announced.
US President Donald Trump is set to visit China for talks with President Xi Jinping on trade, global issues, and the Gulf war. The visit aims to address trade frictions and other key issues, with high expectations for progress.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed Israel's ongoing military operation in Lebanon, stating that Hezbollah "was not included" in the recent ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran, which halted the conflict in West Asia for two weeks.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that China has committed to halting weapon supplies to Iran, following his personal diplomatic interventions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Facing escalating threats from the US, Iran is mobilizing its citizens to form 'human chains' around power plants as a defensive measure against potential airstrikes, raising concerns about international law and civilian safety.
The fragile ceasefire in West Asia between the US and Iran to halt the hostilities in the region for two weeks faces renewed uncertainty as Tehran reportedly moved to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz once again due to Israel's intensified offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), which US President Trump says was "not included" as part of the ceasefire deal.
Chaffing under public ridicule in the US as well as internationally for having 'lost' the war, Trump is under immense pressure to do something, cautions Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iran has announced the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial vessels, coinciding with a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has stated that Israel is prepared to escalate military action against Iran, pending approval from the United States. This comes as US President Donald Trump says he would not use nuclear weapons in any conflict with Iran, while also claiming the US has 'total control' over the Strait of Hormuz.
As the negotiations continued, the Iranian government said on social media that "talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad entered the expert-level stage as economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees joined in".
Hours after ceasefire, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned against any country supplying military weapons to the Islamic Republic, stating that he would impose a 50 percent tariff on all goods exported to the United States.
Israel will continue its offensive in South Lebanon aimed at neutralising the threat from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed confidence that Tehran would eventually concede to American demands, while simultaneously issuing a stern warning regarding the potential for total military devastation.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel and the US struck Iran because Tehran had restarted its nuclear programme and it would have gone 'immune within months'. He claimed Iran was building new underground sites to shield its missile and nuclear programmes from attacks.
In his first major national address since hostilities began, Trump said the ongoing military campaign, dubbed 'Operation Epic Fury', has delivered 'swift, decisive, overwhelming victories'.
This sharp Iranian response came after a series of uncompromising remarks from the US president.
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
The White House has responded cautiously to reports of Pakistan offering to mediate between the US and Iran, amid ongoing tensions and potential talks.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
US President Donald Trump stated that Iran is eager to make a deal and predicted a sharp decline in oil prices due to abundant supply, amidst a Senate resolution to limit his war powers in Iran.
With the International Atomic Energy Agency weighing options to deal with Iran's nuclear programme, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the issue should be dealt with diplomatically as he discussed it with US President Barack Obama.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday criticised the United States over its stance on Russian oil, claiming Washington was now "begging" countries across the globe, including India, to purchase Russian crude.
Indian benchmark equity indices, the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, experienced a significant drop in early trade due to elevated oil prices, weak global market trends, and renewed fears of military operations in the Middle East following US President Donald Trump's statements regarding Iran. Track Sensex, Nifty on May 20.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
Trump seems to have estimated that Ghalibaf is a pragmatic politician who is receptive to close relations with the US and is enthusiastic about fostering business and economic ties in particular, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in West Asia, offering to host talks between the US and Iran and engaging with regional leaders to promote peace and stability.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered to host talks between the US and Iran to help resolve the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, following reports of Pakistan's involvement in backchannel diplomacy.
The US President clarified that these negotiations do not involve the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
US President Donald Trump concluded his Beijing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing it as 'incredible' and highlighting 'fantastic trade deals' and a 'very strong' relationship between the two leaders.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Negotiating a sustainable compromise with Iran is not getting any easier, and this delay might not yield the desired result of bringing Tehran's nuclear programme under stringent limits, says Claude Smadja
For India, much is at stake: Crucial energy supplies traversing the Strait of Hormuz, the fate of its 10 million citizens living and working in West Asia -- who send generous remittances home -- and its major trade links with the region.
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
