US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran 'very hard' amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, while acknowledging that Pakistan is still working to broker a peace deal between Washington and Tehran. Speaking at the White House, Trump stated that he gave Iran 'a break at the request of Pakistan,' specifically praising Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as 'great' and 'very friendly.'
Escalation in the Strait of Hormuz
The threat comes after a week of escalating hostilities, including the downing of an American helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. This incident threatens to unravel a fragile ceasefire that was established in April at Pakistan's insistence. Trump emphasized that Iran had agreed not to obtain a nuclear weapon, but a formal agreement still needs to be signed.
Pakistan's Mediation Role
Pakistan, leveraging its close ties with both Trump and Iran, has been acting as the chief mediator since the conflict began in February. Islamabad hosted the first round of US-Iran talks on April 11, but those discussions failed to produce a breakthrough. Since then, Pakistan has continued to relay messages and peace proposals between the two sides.
Trump also revealed that the US has been secretly extracting 'millions of barrels of oil' from Iran, which he claimed kept global oil prices at $85-90 per barrel instead of $250. 'Now that they figured it out, I can tell you... I wanted to say it so badly, I didn't want to ruin it, but it was very hard,' he said.
