Tehran: Pakistan’s defence chief Asim Munir left Tehran on Saturday without being able to broker any deal between Iran and the US on the ending of hostilities in the Middle East.
Tehran has apparently flatly refused to sign a permanent truce without immediate economic concessions.
Diplomats, however, believe that not all is over. There is still chance of lasting peace in the region. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, noted that the two warring capitals are simultaneously “very far and very close” to a consensus.
Sources revealed that the Iranian executive framework presented two distinct operational proposals to the Pakistani mediators and visiting Qatari interlocutors during the intense Saturday sessions. Both strategies are anchored to a resolute mandate: “No deal without cash”, as reported by News18.
According to them, Iran has formally offered to fully reopen the heavily blockaded Strait of Hormuz to international shipping – thereby restoring the flow of a fifth of global energy supplies – but strictly in exchange for the US paying massive, structured financial compensation to Tehran for port and trade damages.
Iran has also demanded the total removal of unilateral US banking sanctions and the verifiable release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds overseas before any final, direct bilateral peace talks can legally commence.
This comes in the backdrop of Iran setting up the controversial Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). Managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the authority has begun enforcing an aggressive tolling system, demanding up to $2 million per vessel for safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington has made it clear that this is unacceptable. US secretary of state Marco Rubio explicitly red-flagged the mechanism, warning that a permanent Iranian tolling system over an international waterway remains entirely “unacceptable” to the Trump administration.
While the White House prefers a negotiated solution, the President maintains “other options” on the table, he said. This statement coincides with intelligence leaks that the US military is actively evaluating fresh surgical strikes if backchannel diplomacy collapses.
Tehran has reacted with equal hostility. Speaking directly to Munir before his departure, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that the Islamic Republic has completely fortified its military installations during the current shaky ceasefire.
If the US commits the “folly” of resuming hostilities, Iran’s operational response will be “more crushing and bitter” than the opening days of the war, he is said to have warned.
Both Islamabad and Doha are already coordinating another rapid round of talks and meetings, expected to convene early next week.
