On the 100th day of a Middle East war that shows few signs of cooling, the United States said it shot down two Iranian drones it described as a threat to shipping in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The grim milestone arrived as Pakistan stepped deeper into a mediation effort, delivering a message to Iran’s supreme leader after weeks of indirect contacts that have swung between tit-for-tat threats and intermittent exchanges of fire.
Repeated attempts to translate ceasefire talk into a durable settlement have faltered, even as the conflict has shaken global markets and added to domestic pressure on US President Donald Trump with midterm elections approaching.
Over the weekend, however, there were indications of renewed diplomatic movement, with Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi travelling to Tehran.
Iranian state television reported that Mr Naqvi said on arrival he would carry a “special letter” from Pakistan’s army chief to Iran’s supreme leader, along with a message from the prime minister “regarding the current situation”.
“I think it’s a very important message,” Mr Naqvi said. He is a frequent visitor to Iran.
Pakistani military leader Syed Asim Munir has emerged as a central figure in the mediation between Iran and the US, following an initial round of direct negotiations held in Islamabad.
Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal also flew to Pakistan for separate discussions with Mr Munir, as Beirut pushes for a lasting end to a parallel conflict on Lebanese soil involving Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Iran has said Lebanon must be part of any agreement aimed at ending the broader regional war, and a source with knowledge of Mr Haykal’s trip said the visit was “linked to the Pakistani mediation” between Tehran and Washington.
‘Deadlock’
Mr Haykal’s visit coincided with a statement from US Central Command (CENTCOM), which said it destroyed two Iranian drones “that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz”.
An earlier drone interception and US strikes on Iranian radar sites had already prompted Tehran to launch a missile salvo at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait yesterday.
Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN that talks with the US “are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock”, while urging the release of about $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
Washington, though, may look to redirect those funds toward repairing damage from Iranian strikes on Gulf allies.
The US intends “to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs”, a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking said.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, warned that an attack on Beirut would signal the resumption of the Middle East war
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to CNN, said negotiating with Washington had become “very cumbersome”.
“The main problem of negotiating with this administration is that you have to face so many changing positions, moving the goal posts, different statements, contradictory remarks,” he said.
Lebanon front
Lebanon became entwined in the wider war after Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 in support of Iran.
A ceasefire declared in April was never implemented, and a newly announced conditional truce in recent days was rejected by Hezbollah almost as soon as it was unveiled.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel’s military had “struck a militant command centre” in Beirut’s southern suburbs — a Hezbollah stronghold — in response to “fire towards Israeli territory”.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strikes hit two apartments in two separate buildings.
An AFP photographer reported seeing damage to two apartments in a building on a narrow street, along with traffic snarls as residents tried to flee the suburb while the Lebanese army deployed in the area.
Mr Araghchi has previously warned that any strike on Beirut would set off a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war.
