WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� has intensified over , but hopes for a possible diplomatic solution have shown stubborn signs of life.
Pakistan鈥檚 Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected suggestions that Islamabad had abandoned efforts to bring Washington and Tehran back to the negotiating table after brokering an last month that has now collapsed.
鈥淟et me dispel the impression that Pakistan has done hands up, and this is not the case,鈥� ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a news conference, adding that the parties eventually “will have to come to the negotiating table to settle all outstanding issues.鈥�
Even the top negotiators for Iran and the U.S. signaled they have not walked away from talks. In a podcast interview with Joe Rogan that aired Wednesday, said the Trump administration is 鈥渘ot going to bomb and bomb and bomb鈥� and noted that 鈥測ou鈥檝e got to actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e going try to use our military force as one of the many tools that we have to solve the problem,鈥� Vance said, adding that 鈥渄iplomacy is another tool.鈥�
Mediators from countries that include Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt have been working to resume talks, according to regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy. They noted that neither side has notified Pakistan that it was officially withdrawing or terminating the .
The backchannel efforts have been overshadowed by the escalating attacks, with the U.S. military on Thursday and firing on a ship that the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval . Iran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region and warned that its attacks could grow to target 鈥渁ll the infrastructure in the region.鈥�
The U.S. and Iran are in that 鈥渓eaves open the possibility of moving up the escalation ladder,鈥� said Naysan Rafati, senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based International Crisis Group.
The push is on for renewing negotiations
Andrabi, the spokesman for Pakistan鈥檚 foreign ministry, acknowledged that mediation between Iran and the U.S. had become increasingly difficult. But he said peace efforts remained alive.
鈥淚t can be put on the backburner, but it stays,鈥� Andrabi said, adding that 鈥渨henever the parties exhaust the logic of escalation, the formula for peace is there.鈥�
The regional officials involved in mediation attempts said efforts to salvage the deal to end the war were continuing this week. They acknowledged that the 60-day negotiating process has halted. But they said mediators have been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table.
Officials say the key point of dispute is management of the , the crucial energy shipping route that is . The language in the interim deal is vague. Iran claims it has the authority to arrange shipping transit through the strait, while the U.S. says the waterway is meant to be open to free passage and has tried to arrange an alternate shipping route along Oman鈥檚 coast.
In his interview with Rogan, Vance acknowledged that diplomacy might ultimately be the only way forward.
鈥淚鈥檓 very frustrated by the Americans and frankly by people in other countries who are like, 鈥榊ou cannot negotiate with the Iranians,鈥欌�� the vice president said. 鈥淲ell, then what is your proposal to get people to stop shooting at ships in the Strait of Hormuz?鈥�
Trump increases the threats and says Iran 鈥榖etter behave鈥�
The fighting resumed over Iran鈥檚 unwillingness to allow oil tankers and other commercial vessels to navigate freely through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Persian Gulf shipping route through which 20% of the world鈥檚 oil normally flows. Iran effectively choked off the usual stream of commerce by that ignored its rules, disrupting world energy markets and driving up prices that could pose problems for Republicans in November鈥檚 midterm elections.
Asked by reporters in recent days if he is still open to negotiations, Trump has that Iran returning to the table is the only thing that can avoid U.S. attacks on civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants. But the Republican president said he would not put a timeline on it.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story,鈥� Trump said in Pennsylvania on Wednesday. 鈥淭hey better behave.鈥�
Moments before, Iran鈥檚 parliament speaker and lead negotiator said the country is not declaring last month鈥檚 interim deal void. But Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran鈥檚 commitment depends on continued implementation by the United States. If Washington fails to honor its obligations, Iran would have no reason to remain bound by it, he argued.
The initial called for a permanent end to hostilities and a reopening of the strait and started a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the and other issues.
Qalibaf also suggested that Iran is not seeking to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed indefinitely. He said Tehran鈥檚 objective is to preserve what he called 鈥淚ranian arrangements鈥� governing navigation through the waterway, while allowing the maximum safe passage of commercial shipping under those rules.
US is trying a naval blockade and more strikes to reopen the Strait of Hormuz 鈥� again
To stop Iran鈥檚 attacks on ships, Trump has stepped up military attacks and reinstituted an earlier Navy blockade of Iranian ports to inflict economic pain.
But it would be unrealistic to expect the U.S. to eliminate into the strait anytime soon, said Bradley Bowman, a former Army helicopter pilot and now a scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.
鈥淯nfortunately, Iran only needs to hit a ship every now and then to create serious problems and dilemmas for insurers and ship captains and reduce the flow of traffic in the strait,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat reduced flow exerts significant economic and political pressure on Washington, especially as midterm elections approach. Iran understands the leverage it now has 鈥� and so does Trump.鈥�
At the same time, Bowman and other experts are not convinced that more strikes and economic pressure will get Iran to negotiate.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing things that have not affected Iranian behavior in the past,鈥� said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 鈥淪o why would it affect Iranian behavior now?鈥�
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Amiri reported from New York, Magdy from Cairo and Ahmed from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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