Politics Crisis diplomacy in the Iran war continues - USA warns Tehran
Crisis diplomacy to resolve the conflict in Iran has continued. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif flew from Saudi Arabia to Qatar to explore a solution to the conflict.
16.04.2026, 14:57
SDA
Pakistan itself had "maintained open channels of communication with the parties concerned", said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad. The spokesman did not confirm speculation about rapid further negotiations between Iran and the USA
Diplomatic sources told the news agency DPA that a new date for talks between the warring parties would only be set after Sharif's return on Saturday. The Prime Minister has been on a trip lasting several days since Wednesday, which will take him to Turkey at the end.
A ceasefire between the USA and Iran is in place until next Wednesday. Initial negotiations between the warring parties in Islamabad ended last weekend without any results.
USA ready for new attacks at any time
According to Defense Minister Pete Hegseth, the USA is keeping all options open. Iran is being closely monitored as to which weapons it is currently deploying and where. Tehran's threat to fire on ships in the Strait of Hormuz is not "control" - as Iran presents it - but rather an act of "piracy" and "terrorism", according to Hegseth. The USA was ready to resume the attacks at the push of a button. The Iranian leadership should "decide wisely", said Hegseth.
Pakistan's army chief on a mission
Meanwhile, Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has arrived in Tehran for talks. According to Iranian broadcasters, he also wanted to meet the influential parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. Munir is regarded as a central, unelected decision-maker in Pakistan and a tough negotiator. Even before the Iran war began, US President Donald Trump had repeatedly spoken positively about the field marshal. Munir was invited to the White House several times. An extraordinary honor for a military man without a civilian state office.
According to diplomatic sources, Field Marshal Munir will meet with Prime Minister Sharif in Turkey before traveling on to the USA. A regional diplomatic conference will take place in Turkey from Friday.
Telephone call on the situation in Lebanon planned
A line of communication also seems to be emerging in the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. According to a minister, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to speak on the phone with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. It would be the first known phone call between Netanyahu and Aoun. The Lebanese president's office said that it had no information about such a conversation.
At the same time, Netanyahu is having a so-called "security zone" expanded in the northern neighboring country. He has instructed the Israeli armed forces to further expand the "security zone" in the south of Lebanon, Netanyahu said according to a statement from his office. Negotiations with Lebanon are being conducted in parallel.
The negotiations with Lebanon are pursuing two central goals, Netanyahu explained according to his office on Wednesday evening: disarming the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia "and secondly, lasting peace. Peace through strength." The Lebanese government, which is not a party to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, wants to achieve a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the south of Lebanon.
International initiative for free shipping traffic in the strait
International efforts to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz again - on a permanent basis - are also continuing. "It is definitely not acceptable for sea routes such as the Strait of Hormuz to be controlled by individual states and for tariffs to be imposed there," said British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at a joint event with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Berlin.
Several European states want to discuss a plan to secure international shipping after the Iran war at a conference in Paris this Friday initiated by France and Great Britain. The meeting is also to discuss a maritime operation in which several states are to ensure safe shipping after the end of the conflict.
China also presses for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz
China is also exerting pressure to open the passage, which is important for global trade. In a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Iran's "sovereignty, security and legitimate rights and interests" as a coastal state of the strait must be respected and protected, according to a Chinese press release. At the same time, however, the "freedom and safety of international shipping" must also be guaranteed. Efforts to restore normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz are "the unanimous call of the international community".
Meanwhile, the USA declared that it would not extend the temporary easing of oil sanctions against Russia and Iran. "We will not extend the general authorization for Russian oil, and we will not extend the general authorization for Iranian oil," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The temporary relaxation affected oil that was already at sea before March 11. The entire quota has been exhausted.
