DUBAI: Pakistan's army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.
In a related development, China's foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that reopening of the Strait Hormuz was an international demand. Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran's sovereignty, security and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured.
“Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday.
The US naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.
The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad.
In a development in the war's other front, Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries' first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal.
It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to the comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon.
Here is the latest:
Israel's Minister of Science and Technology Gila Gamliel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday, the first time the leaders of the two countries have spoken directly in more than 30 years.
The Prime Minister's Office and the Lebanese government did not immediately comment.
“Today the Prime Minister will speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of a complete disconnection in the dialogue between the two countries,” Gamliel, a member of Israel's security cabinet, told Army Radio Thursday morning.
Gamliel, who was at a cabinet meeting late Wednesday about negotiations with Lebanon, said the move “will hopefully ultimately lead to prosperity and flourishing” between the two countries.
Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to countries including Saudi Arabia and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's trip to Iran are part of “collective efforts” aimed at promoting regional peace and de-escalation, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
“Pakistan is being recognized for its constructive diplomatic engagement in supporting de-escalation, ceasefire efforts and a broader pursuit of stability between the United States and Iran,” ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said.
Pakistan has encouraged dialogue, facilitated message exchanges and helped create a peaceful space for meaningful negotiations such as the recent talks between the US and Iran, Andrabi said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has underwritten the first of two shipments of diesel fuel at prices inflated by the Iran war.
Viva Energy is shipping more than 570,000 barrels of diesel from Brunei and South Korea, Albanese said Thursday at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said it was “the first of many expected shipments” under his government's new strategic reserve powers.
Under terms announced last week with Australia's only refinery operators, Viva Energy and Ampol, the government will underwrite diesel and gasoline import contracts with prices that could prove commercially unviable.
Smaller fuel companies Park Fuels and IOR have since struck similar deals.
Australia has sufficient fuel contracted to last into May, but there are concerns about later shortages.
Trump wrote late Wednesday on Truth Social that leaders from Israel and Lebanon would speak the next day in a renewed effort to broker a ceasefire after the countries' first direct talks in decades ended the previous day in Washington without a deal.
It was not clear what leaders Trump was referring to. The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond for comment, which was posted before dawn in Israel and Lebanon.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a unanimous demand from the international community.
Wang Yi told Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that Iran's sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights should be respected as a littoral state of the Strait of Hormuz, but freedom of navigation and safety through the strait should be ensured.
“Working to resume normal passage of the strait is a unanimous call from the international community,” Wang was quoted as saying in a government statement late Wednesday.
Wang noted that the current situation had reached a critical juncture between war and peace and also said that the window of peace was opening.
Paramedic groups say a fourth Lebanese rescue worker has died after three consecutive, targeted strikes by the Israeli military Wednesday that also wounded six others.
The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun, near the bigger town of Nabatiyeh, hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians, a second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes beyond saying it was “looking into” what happened. It has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence.
Officials say there were no suspicious circumstances behind the blaze that broke out late Wednesday at the Viva Energy Geelong refinery southwest of Melbourne, and no one was injured.
The facility is one of two refineries in Australia and provides 10 per cent of the nation's gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Australia has agreed to underwrite two companies buying fuel at prices inflated by the war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned last week that supply disruptions would “have a long tail” even if the Iran ceasefire holds.
The government had agreed to terms with Australia's largest suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy to underwrite contracts for gasoline and diesel bought on the spot market for prices above normal commercial rates, Albanese said.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Thursday it was too early to tell the extent of the fire's impact on gasoline production.
“The refinery is still producing diesel and jet fuel at reduced levels as a safety precaution,” Bowen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
On gasoline, Bowen said, “It's not a positive development. It will have an impact.”
Firefighters said the blaze had been contained to the gasoline plant.
According to the statement, Sharif assured the Kingdom of Pakistan's “full solidarity and support” and praised what he described as Saudi Arabia's restraint under the crown prince's leadership.
Pakistan has a defense agreement with the Kingdom, which has faced retaliatory attacks from Iran in recent weeks, causing damage.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to the Kingdom, briefing him on Pakistan's efforts to ease US-Iran tensions and assuring him of Islamabad's “full support”, his office said before dawn Thursday.
Wednesday's meeting lasted more than two hours, and Sharif was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The statement said the crown prince praised what it described as the constructive role played by Sharif and Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the peace process.
Sharif dispatched Munir to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders.
Pakistan has long maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia while also keeping relations with Iran.
“We are subject to the decisions of the relevant officials, but personally I do not agree to extend the ceasefire,” said Mohsen Rezaei, formerly a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who now advises Mojtaba Khamenei on military affairs, Iranian state media reported.
Rezaei also urged officials to be more cautious than they had been before in negotiations over economic matters with the US.
He said Iran was setting the preconditions in the next round of talks, not the US.
“Unlike the Americans who are afraid of continuous war, we are fully prepared and familiar with a long war,” he said, according to the report.