ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and Qatar on Thursday stepped up diplomatic efforts to salvage the fragile peace process between Iran and the United States after a fresh military escalation threatened to derail Islamabad’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which ended months of hostilities.
The latest crisis erupted after the United States launched a new wave of attacks against Iranian military targets, saying the attacks were in response to Iran’s assault on commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US military facilities in the Gulf, raising fears of an all-out war.
Amid the rapidly deteriorating security situation, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held a telephone conversation on Thursday evening with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
According to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Araghchi strongly condemned the latest US military strikes, describing them as a “clear violation” of the UN Charter and Islamabad’s MoU. He said statements by senior US officials indicating that they were no longer bound by the agreement amounted to an admission that Washington had violated the agreement.
The Iranian foreign minister also reiterated Tehran’s determination to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, warning against what he called further American “adventurism.”
Pakistan has yet to issue an official readout of the conversation. The phone call came as Islamabad stepped up behind-the-scenes diplomacy to prevent the peace process from falling apart.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs expressed “deep concern” over the renewed violence, urging all parties to exercise restraint and honor their commitments under the Islamabad MoU.
“There is no alternative to the continuation of engagement, dialogue and diplomacy,” the Foreign Office said, warning that a resumption of conflict benefits no one.
Diplomatic sources said Pakistan and Qatar, the two main facilitators of the June peace deal, remain in close contact with both Tehran and Washington in an effort to restore the ceasefire and resume negotiations on outstanding issues, including maritime security, sanctions relief and implementation of the MoU.
The latest flare-up began after three commercial vessels, including a Qatari LNG tanker, were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States accused Iran of violating the ceasefire by attacking international shipping, prompting President Donald Trump to declare that the truce had effectively ended before authorizing new military strikes against Iranian targets.
Iran, however, insists that the United States was the first to violate the agreement by attacking Iranian territory. Tehran maintains that only routes designated by Iranian authorities are authorized for commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a position rejected by Washington and several states in the region.
The renewed hostilities have cast serious doubts on the future of the Islamabad MoU, signed in June after weeks of painstaking negotiations mediated by Pakistan with strong support from Qatar. The agreement was designed as an interim framework to halt military operations and create conditions for negotiations on broader political and security issues.
Diplomatic observers say the next few days will be critical for the future of the deal. While neither Tehran nor Washington have formally withdrawn from the MoU, both sides now accuse each other of violating its provisions, making the task of mediators increasingly difficult.
Despite the sharp escalation, Pakistani officials remain hopeful that sustained diplomatic engagement can prevent a complete collapse of the peace process.
Officials believe maintaining communication channels with both capitals remains essential to containing the crisis and getting the parties back to negotiations before the conflict escalates into another large-scale regional confrontation.
