On Friday, Pakistan, playing the mediator role, assured the world that discussions between Iran and the United States were still active, despite a fresh US onslaught against its adversary in response to new attacks on Jordan.
In recent developments, Saudi Arabia has joined forces with the US to target militants in Iraq, while Egypt faced its inaugural drone offensive at a Mediterranean port. This escalation prompted Egypt’s president to caution about a significant intensification of the Middle Eastern conflict.
Thursday witnessed a tense scenario as Jordan successfully intercepted Iranian missiles for the second consecutive day. Concurrently, Kuwait suffered a casualty when an Iranian attack struck a building of a Chinese firm.
These renewed tensions and face-offs erupted after a temporary ceasefire intended to facilitate negotiations.
Speaking to the press, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Tahir Andrabi, affirmed, “Conversations are in progress, mainly focusing on the Strait of Hormuz and initiatives to reduce hostilities.”
Pakistan had helped to broker a deal between the warring sides laying the groundwork for negotiations on a permanent resolution, and Andrabi said it was doing its “utmost to bring all parties back” to technical talks under the agreement.
Previous talks following an April truce stalled, with the ceasefire collapsing earlier this month and Iran again slamming shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that two oil tankers attempting to transit the strait with US support turned back after one of them caught fire.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it had set up a maritime defence alliance of 14 regional countries to secure navigation around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The move comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said last week they were imposing a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia and claimed attacks targeting Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
The narrow maritime artery has been a critical waterway for delivering vast quantities of Saudi crude to the international market, after energy exports were choked off by the US-Iran standoff in the Strait of Hormuz.
Strikes in Iran
Earlier, the US military said it had “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran”, hitting dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets including military command centres.
US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran “hard” after Iran’s previous attack on Jordan, its first in the region in days.
The Guards’ branch in the northwestern province of Zanjan said three of its members were killed in a US attack there.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA also reported hits on several cities in the southwestern Khuzestan province, as well as on Qeshm island in the Gulf.
Areas around the cities of Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz — all in Khuzestan — were struck, the agency said, citing provincial authorities.
Jordan’s army reported a new volley of Iranian missiles on Thursday morning, saying five had been shot down, causing no casualties.
The Guards confirmed the attack, saying the US “used the occupied bases in your country (Jordan) to launch an airstrike” that killed residents in Qeshm.
Kuwait’s defence ministry denounced a “heinous” Iranian attack that “targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north”, killed one worker and caused severe material damage.
Egypt directly hit for first time
Since it began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the war in the Middle East has touched every country in the region, and some outside it.
While energy facilities elsewhere in the region have been repeatedly targeted by drones and missiles, Egypt had been spared until Wednesday, when an attack at a gas import hub sparked a fire that damaged two ships.
The government confirmed on Thursday that a drone was to blame for the blaze, noting that no one had claimed responsibility.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels denied any involvement, according to rebel media.
Egypt’s government added that an inquiry was ongoing “to determine the circumstances of the incident and to take the necessary measures to preserve Egypt’s interests and national security”.
During a call to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed the need for “the international community to work together to halt this escalation”, according to his spokesperson.
Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler identified the damaged ships as the Energos Winter storage and regasification vessel and the GasLog Salem tanker, saying they had been moved offshore after the incident.
A private security monitor, UK-based Ambrey, reported that the US-owned-and-operated floating storage vessel had been hit by at least one drone.
The authority that manages the port said it remained fully operational.