By Uzma Ehtasham
The diplomatic stage has shifted, and in its latest act, Washington finds itself offering unexpected praise to an unlikely partner. President Donald Trump has gone out of his way to commend Pakistan’s leadership – specifically Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir – for their role in hosting the recent United States-Iran talks in Islamabad. According to Trump, these negotiations, which stretched nearly twenty hours, were made possible only through the effective stewardship of Pakistan’s civilian and military establishment. He described the country’s leadership as extraordinary, noting with a touch of theatrical gratitude that Pakistani officials have repeatedly thanked him for helping avert a potentially devastating war with India, one that could have claimed millions of lives.
It was, by any measure, an unusual moment. The same Washington that has spent years keeping Islamabad at arm’s length, that has questioned Pakistan’s loyalties and doubted its reliability, was now showering it with praise. However, gratitude, in the theatre of Donald Trump, is seldom unconditional. It arrives with fine print attached, and the fine print is always written in capital letters. For while the talks in Islamabad yielded progress on several fronts, the core issue – Iran’s nuclear program – remained intractable. Tehran, Trump lamented, is simply not ready to abandon its atomic ambitions. And for the American president, an unpredictable nation armed with nuclear capability is a risk the world cannot afford. Not in the Middle East, not anywhere.
That is the rub, and it is a mighty one. It is the kind of rub that breaks negotiations, ends ceasefires, and sends generals back to their war rooms. Then came the explosion. In an announcement as blunt as it is bellicose, delivered not from a podium but from the digital megaphone of his Truth Social platform, Trump declared that the United States would immediately begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Every vessel passing through that vital waterway, he said, would be stopped and searched. The reason? Iran, he claimed, has broken its promise to keep the strait open, allegedly sowing mines in the sea and plunging the world into a climate of fear and uncertainty.
This, Trump thundered, is global blackmail. No nation should accept it. The United States Navy, he made clear, now has the authority to intercept, search, and potentially seize any ship that has paid any form of toll fee to Iran. Such vessels, he warned, will not be given safe passage in open waters. American forces will also destroy all mines laid in the strait, and any Iranian action against a US or peaceful vessel will be met with severe and devastating retaliation. Allies, he added, will join this blockade. Iran must not be allowed to profit from its lawless behavior. The timing is, of course, anything but accidental. Trump revealed that he had been fully briefed on the long Islamabad talks by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner.
Once again, President Trump praised Pakistan’s leadership, insisting that their diplomacy helped prevent a major war and saved countless lives. Yet within the same breath, he drew a red line so vivid it might as well have been painted in fire. Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons, whatever steps are required to prevent it. He went further, claiming that Iran’s military power is now severely diminished – its navy and air force nearly obliterated, its defence systems rendered ineffective by weeks of sustained American and Israeli strikes. If Tehran does not change course, he warned, the United States is fully prepared to finish the job. It was not a threat delivered with hesitation. It was a promise wrapped in a warning.
Analysts are right to sound the alarm. A full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is not a minor escalation. It is not a symbolic gesture or a negotiating tactic. It is an act that would send shockwaves across the globe, disrupting oil supplies that keep the world’s economies breathing, rattling financial markets that are already jittery, and unleashing chaos across an already volatile region. The stakes could scarcely be higher. If the strait closes, or even narrows significantly, the price of petrol in London, New York, and Karachi would not just rise. It would leap. And behind every price increase is a human story – a family choosing between fuel and food, a small business shutting its doors, a hospital struggling to keep its generators running.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media, has spoken by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Their topic was the US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad. Putin offered Russia’s cooperation in bringing an end to the conflict and restoring peace to the Middle East. It was a reminder, if any were needed, that Moscow retains a long and shadowy reach in this region. Pezeshkian, for his part, appreciated Russia’s principled stance on reducing regional tensions and offered special thanks for Russian humanitarian aid to the Iranian people during these difficult times. There was something almost poignant in that exchange – two leaders, bound by circumstance and shared suspicion of the West, reaffirming their commitment to expanding bilateral ties and strengthening mutual cooperation.
What is clear, however, is that Pakistan has emerged from this diplomatic whirlwind with its reputation enhanced. Whether that reputation survives the coming weeks depends on forces entirely beyond Islamabad’s control. The talks are over. The praise has been given. The blockade has been announced. Now the world waits to see whether the Strait of Hormuz becomes a choke point not just for oil tankers but for the fragile hope that diplomacy can still outrun disaster.
(The writer is a public health professional, journalist, and possesses expertise in health communication, having keen interest in national and international affairs, can be reached at uzma@metro-morning.com)
