Pakistan redoubles diplomatic offensive to save dialogue between Iran and the USA.

LondonInternational diplomacy continues to work in a race against time to prevent the collapse of the truce between Iran and the United States and to force both countries back to the negotiating table. Pakistan has once again positioned itself at the center of this chessboard, offering to host a second round of talks in Islamabad this very week. As official sources have confirmed to Al-Jazeera and Reuters, the Pakistani government is willing to act as host "for as many rounds as necessary" to ensure peace.

This effort has the active support of Turkey and Egypt, which are trying to rebuild the bridges that were broken last weekend, when the first high-level meeting ended without any solid agreement on the region's nuclear future.

And amidst conflicting information, data emerging from Iran suggests that the ayatollahs' regime is keeping the diplomatic channel open with various international actors. However, there is no official confirmation yet of a new summit or its possible location – it could be in Geneva, Turkey, or Islamabad – according to sources close to the negotiations, as reported by the Qatari channel. Tehran, in any case, assures that it will maintain its "diplomatic commitment".

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, and the President, Masoud Pezeshkian, have intensified their telephone contacts with counterparts in the region and with other international actors, such as French President Emmanuel Macron. According to these same sources, they have also spoken with representatives from Russia, Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Germany.

External pressure also comes from China, which has described the naval blockade of Hormuz as "dangerous and irresponsible" and has warned that it only serves to worsen an already fragile situation. The Asian giant, Iran's main oil buyer, fears that the militarization of maritime routes will compromise the security of passage through Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude oil transits.

In this scenario of maximum tension, the words of US President Donald Trump resonated strongly yesterday. Despite having initiated a naval blockade in the Persian Gulf, Trump stated that there is still room for understanding, and assured that the Iranians had called him directly and that "they desperately want a deal" to alleviate the economic stranglehold.

However, the gap continues to be abysmal, according to different media outlets in the United States. While Iran proposes to suspend uranium enrichment for five years, the White House demands a minimum pause of twenty years under strict Washington control. The North American vice president, J.D. Vance, was emphatic in the past hours in an interview with Fox News, stating that North American control over enriched uranium is an insurmountable "red line" for the Trump administration.

For its part, Tehran accuses the US of "piracy" for the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and estimates war losses at 270 billion dollars, a bill that would increase if hostilities continue.

The international community, therefore, waits with skepticism to see if the need for an agreement will eventually prevail over the rhetoric of confrontation that dominates both sides. What is evident is that the first meeting in Islamabad has not been enough to break the great distrust that Tehran has with Washington.

In parallel, the diplomatic focus will also shift in the coming hours towards Washington, where crucial talks about Lebanon will be held this Tuesday. Israeli and Lebanese representatives are meeting under the mediation of the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in what represents the first direct contact since 1993. Despite the importance of the meeting, the prospects are more than uncertain, as Israel maintains its military offensive in southern Lebanon under the argument that the country was not part of the truce agreement with Iran.