American Troops Bulk Up Gulf Presence as Proxies Attempt Negotiator Roles in Iran Conflict

With Iran granting passage to more Pakistani flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Islamabad is attempting to take a negotiator role in Iran’s military conflict with America and Israel, hosting two days of meetings with top diplomats from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Following a long phone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, wrote in an X post that his country stands in solidarity with “the brave people of Iran” as he attempts to mediate a conflict that President Trumps says is largely over even as American troops increase their presence in the region. “The Iranian President “stressed upon the need to build trust in order to facilitate talks and mediation. In this regard, he praised the Prime Minister for Pakistan’s supportive role for peace,” reads Mr. Sharif’s post.But without a negotiating partner on the other side of the conflict, the potential for a coordinated resolution seems limited. American forces are converging on the Persian Gulf, dampening signals that a quick end to hostilities is near, while the Islamic Regime — despite a flagging depot — fires missiles and drones across the Middle East. The gulf is undergoing a “systematic pattern of undermining regional stability led by Iran,” Kuwait’s foreign minister said Sunday after the army announced that 10 of its service members were injured in one attack. Few countries in the region beside Pakistan are showing signs of support for Tehran as ship traffic stands mostly stalled in the bottleneck strait that is key for transporting 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies and many other goods. Pakistan is one of the few nations, along with China, Russia, Iraq, and India, granted safe passage.Bahrain says it is imposing a daily curfew blocking any boats and ships from operating in its waters between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. “to safeguard the safety of seafarers and sea-goers and to enhance the security of Bahrain’s coastlines amid the blatant Iranian aggression,” the country’s ministry of interior wrote in an X post on Sunday.The United Arab Emirates also faced new missile attacks on Sunday. “Any political solution addressing the Iranian aggression against the Arab Gulf states must include clear guarantees to prevent future violations, uphold the principle of non-aggression, and mandate Iranian reparations for targeting civilian and vital facilities as well as civilians,” the official X account of the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted.“Iran deceived its neighbors about its intentions before the war and revealed premeditated aggression despite their sincere efforts to avoid it, making these two paths essential in confronting a regime that has become the primary threat to the security of the Arab Gulf,” it went on to say.With 3,500 additional American troops having arrived in the Middle East, speculation is increasing that they could secure the strait by providing boots on the ground surrounding Kharg, Iran’s oil locus currently being fortified by Iran’s remaining air defenses.The Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to the government, reported that An Iranian army spokesman, General Enrahim Zolfaqari said Iranian forces have prepared for a ground invasion and are waiting to respond to Central Command’s next move.Mr. Zolfaqari warned that any such maneuver would be devastating to American military forces who would become “food for sharks” in the Persian Gulf.A rare statement attributed to Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, thanked armed Iraqi groups targeting American bases in the Middle East, state media reported on Sunday. The message did not include evidence of proof of life from the mullah, who was reportedly injured in the airstrike that killed his father and the previous supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and who has not been seen in public or video since the war began. “They are fighting a war of survival. They are also fighting a war of revenge against President Trump,” a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Karim Sadjadpour, said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “Many of these leaders that we’re hoping to negotiate with are, right now, living underground and fighting for their lives.”Israel, meanwhile, says it launched a new wave of strikes on Iran’s infrastructure on Sunday, including sites in Tehran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will expand its invasion of southern Lebanon to target the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.“I have just instructed to expand even further the existing security zone. We are determined to change the situation in the north from its roots and restore security to the residents of the north,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a video message he delivered from the Northern Command.

American Troops Bulk Up Gulf Presence as Proxies Attempt Negotiator Roles in Iran Conflict

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