Pakistan Pushes to Revive US-Iran Talks Under Islamabad MoU
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- Pakistan's Foreign Office said on July 30 it was "doing its utmost" to bring the US and Iran back to negotiations under the Islamabad MoU signed in June, with spokesperson Tahir Andrabi urging both sides to exercise "maximum restraint."
- The Islamabad MoU, signed June 18, envisaged reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the West Asia conflict within a further 60 days of negotiations, but came under strain after Iran attacked commercial shipping including a Qatari LNG tanker on July 7.
- Yemen's Houthis imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, while the US and Saudi Arabia carried out joint strikes on Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq in retaliation for attacks on US troops and Saudi oil targets.
- On July 29, explosions were reported at a natural gas loading port in Egypt and a US-owned floating storage tanker was reportedly targeted by a drone, opening new fronts in the confrontation.
- On July 30, the US struck Iran in retaliation for Tehran's targeting of American bases in Jordan; hours later Kuwait's Ministry of Defence said an Iranian attack on a Chinese company building north of the country killed one worker.
- Pakistan also referenced the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement of June 22 alongside the MoU as the framework for resuming technical-level talks and normalising the situation around the Strait of Hormuz.
Why it matters: Pakistan is positioning itself as a central mediator while the West Asia conflict expands to new fronts — Egypt, Kuwait, and Iraq all struck within 48 hours. With the June 18 MoU's 60-day negotiation window already broken, Pakistan's diplomatic leverage depends on securing a durable ceasefire that multiple warring parties have so far failed to honor.
