Pakistan Says US, Iran Near ‘Some Sort Of Arrangement’ As Strait Of Hormuz Talks Advance

Pakistan said on Tuesday that the United States and Iran were close to reaching “some sort of an arrangement”, raising hopes that the two sides could move towards a peace deal.

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said recent signs suggested that efforts to reach an agreement were moving in a positive direction.

“Things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal,” Asif told Bloomberg News in Islamabad.

“The signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement,” he said, without giving details.

The comments came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran on Tuesday. Araqchi’s Telegram channel confirmed the meeting but did not provide further details.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that separate talks between Oman and Iran on managing the Strait of Hormuz were at an advanced stage.

The developments are important for global shipping because the Strait of Hormuz has remained effectively blocked during the conflict. Before the war, around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows passed through the waterway.

Iran sets conditions for reopening Hormuz

Iran said on Sunday that it was close to a final agreement with Oman on new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Tehran said that agreeing on the shipping lanes alone would not reopen the waterway. Iran has linked its reopening to several demands from Washington.

These include the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade and sanctions, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region, compensation and war reparations, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to U.S. attacks on Iran’s regional allies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that Iran and the United States were not holding direct talks. He said messages were being exchanged through intermediaries.

Pakistan and Qatar have been the main mediators in efforts to resolve the conflict.

The conflict began after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Thousands of people have been killed, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, according to the information provided.

Iran has responded with attacks on U.S. assets and infrastructure in Oman, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Trump seeks compensation from Iran

Hopes for a deal appeared weaker on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would also seek compensation from Iran.

“We’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period,” Trump said at the White House.

He said the payments would cover deaths among civilian demonstrators and U.S. forces in the region.

Trump also said Iran should pay for damages if compensation was required.

Trump said on Truth Social that Iran was seeking compensation for damage suffered during the five-month conflict, but added that the issue had not been discussed in the negotiations.

He said the United States would also seek compensation from Iran for people killed or seriously wounded in Iranian attacks and for families of people killed during protests in Iran.

Trump said he had instructed U.S. representatives to include the demand in future negotiations with Tehran.

Fresh attacks reported on commercial ships

Yemen’s Transport Ministry said four crew members were killed on Tuesday in a suspected attack on the Egyptian-owned cargo vessel Tihamah in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack. If confirmed, the deaths would be the first fatalities from a Houthi attack on shipping since the Iran war began.

Separately, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was struck by a missile fired from a U.S. helicopter while sailing off Pakistan in the Gulf of Oman, according to the information provided.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a U.S. official said the vessel was hit after its crew ignored warnings from personnel enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The United States first announced the blockade in April and reimposed it in July after a June peace accord collapsed.

The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, saying it was in response to what they described as a Saudi siege. Saudi Arabia has denied that Yemen is under siege.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday after reaching a one-week high earlier in the session. Prices remained much higher than before the war.

References: WIONews, CNBC TV18