There continue to be clear signals that the White House is moving away from the potential for renewed military action and instead settling in for a long economic siege campaign targeting Iran, on a permanent basis.
The avoidance of more bombs away and with all the risks and uncertainty of a military 'solution' has seen oil prices drop. Energy prices are weakening also amid positive signals from Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, who just left Tehran after carrying a fresh US-drafted framework. Crude oil prices (WTI) dropped 3% to just below $82.50 a barrel on Tuesday, extending the 2.4% decline recorded in the previous session.
The US Embassy in Qatar, via State Dept/Stars & StripesAl-Arabiya is reporting that he presented an offer to lift sanctions under the MOU, so long as Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz and halts all hostile actions against Gulf states.
Munir had spoken to Trump by phone before travelling to Tehran, which underscores the high-level nature of the reported offer. Other top Pakistani officials accompanied him:
Pakistan and Iran made "significant progress" in talks that focused on the US-Israeli war on Iran and a path to peace, Pakistan’s interior minister said on Tuesday, at the end of a visit to Tehran.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi subsequently stated on X, "The Iranian President candidly shared his government’s perspective and we had a very constructive exchange on the issues involved."
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