By Uzma Ehtasham
The enduring stalemate between Washington and Tehran continues to hold the global economy hostage. No agreement on a permanent ceasefire has been reached, and at the heart of this paralysis lies the unresolved question of Iran’s enriched uranium. Both sides have dug in, their positions hardening into an almost geological intransigence. Iran has now declared, with a clarity that leaves little room for diplomatic wriggling, that under no circumstances will its stockpile of enriched uranium be transferred to the United States. The spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, framed the matter in almost sacred terms: enriched uranium, he said, is as inviolable as the homeland itself, and will never be shipped abroad.
This flatly contradicts claims made by President Donald Trump, who has insisted that Tehran was ready to hand over its nuclear material in exchange for relief. It is not the first time the president’s assertions have been publicly contradicted by the other side. American media, drawing on their own reporting, have suggested that Iran proposed a swap: 400 kilograms of enriched uranium for the lifting of sanctions, along with the release of $20 billion in frozen assets. Tehran is also said to have demanded the right to levy fees on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington insists that the strait must be kept open without conditions. No meeting of minds here. None, for that matter, in sight.
As if to underscore the depth of the impasse, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has once again shut the Strait of Hormuz. Under the banner of countering what it calls American piracy, the IRGC announced that the passage system has reverted to strict military control. Only a limited number of ships, it claimed, had been allowed through under previous agreements, and with the United States failing to honor its side of the bargain, the strait is now closed. Permission from Iran, the Guard declares, is once again mandatory. This is not brinkmanship; it is the steady ratcheting of pressure in a region that can ill afford another twist of the screw.
President Trump, for his part, has set a deadline. If no final agreement emerges from the current talks by 22 April, he warned, the temporary ceasefire will not be extended. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he raised the prospect of resuming military operations. “Iran cannot blackmail the United States,” he said, adding that negotiations have otherwise been very good. Yet American broadcasters note that while the president has repeatedly claimed a deal is near, multiple signs of obstruction persist. The ceasefire, due to expire on Tuesday, will not be renewed, he insists. In a tacit acknowledgment of the chaos such a closure could unleash, Washington has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil for another month.
Until 16 May, the US Treasury will permit the purchase of Russian crude already loaded onto tankers and at sea, in a bid to ease anticipated shortages on international markets. The fine print, however, makes clear that this exemption does not extend to transactions involving Iran, Cuba or North Korea. Iranian oil exports remain firmly under embargo. It is a revealing exception: the Americans are willing to bend their own rules to stabilize global supply, but not at the expense of their primary adversary in the Gulf. Into this toxic standoff steps Pakistan, threading a diplomatic needle of considerable delicacy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Defence Forces, have been in continuous contact not only with Tehran and Washington but also with regional powers capable of exerting some moderating influence.
Sharif has travelled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, while Munir undertook a three-day official visit to Iran, meeting President Masoud Pezeshkian, Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Major General Ali Abdollahi of the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters. The message from Islamabad is consistent and urgent: dialogue, not escalation; diplomacy, not destruction. Speaking before his departure from Antalya, where he attended a diplomatic forum, Sharif stressed the importance of fostering conversation and statecraft for the sake of durable regional peace. He held extensive talks with the leadership of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, exploring avenues of mutual co-operation. Pakistan wants a permanent ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, and it wants it badly.
Yet as Islamabad knows all too well, an agreement is possible only if both sides introduce flexibility into their positions. If Washington and Tehran remain obstinate, the situation will deteriorate once again, with consequences no one can safely predict. There is, however, a cruel asymmetry in this equation. Many countries can talk to Iran. Few, if any, can talk to a White House whose occupant has made a virtue of unyielding stubbornness. The United States would do well to remember that if war resumes, American interests across the world stand to suffer far greater damage than Iran’s. That is not a threat. It is simply the arithmetic of a hyperconnected age, where no power, not even the superpower, can set the Middle East ablaze and expect to walk away unscathed.
(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)
