WANA (Jun 04) – Pakistan announced on Thursday that despite recent regional escalations, it remains optimistic about a potential agreement and will not abandon diplomatic efforts to facilitate a deal between Iran and the United States.

 

Following recent military strikes in Kuwait and Bahrain, Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi issued a statement urging all involved parties to exercise the highest level of restraint. The ministry expressed hope that both sides would adhere to a ceasefire despite the recent friction.

 

According to reports, Islamabad cautioned that if military escalation continues and the window for dialogue and diplomacy narrows, significant obstacles will impede reaching an agreement. Nevertheless, the spokesperson emphasized that Pakistan will sustain its efforts with an optimistic outlook and will not lose hope due to recent events.

 

Severe Military Exchanges in the Persian Gulf

The Pakistani diplomatic push follows a series of direct military confrontations. After recent U.S. military strikes targeting Iranian sovereign territory in the south, Iran’s armed forces retaliated against the launch points of those operations.

 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was targeted by missile and drone strikes, triggering sirens across various sectors of the country. Concurrently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force launched missile and drone strikes against the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

 

An official statement released by the IRGC on Wednesday detailed the events leading up to the escalation: “Late last night, the aggressor U.S. military targeted an Iranian oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz with an aerial projectile, causing damage to its engine room. In response to this aggression and violation of Strait of Hormuz regulations, a vessel belonging to the American-Zionist enemy, named the Panaya, was targeted by IRGC Navy missiles.”

 

The IRGC statement added that after U.S. forces carried out a subsequent strike against an IRGC telecommunications tower south of Qeshm Island, Iran retaliated by deploying missile and drone strikes against a U.S. air and helicopter base in the region, alongside the strikes on the Fifth Fleet headquarters.

 

“We previously warned that any aggression would meet a different and heavier response, and we acted accordingly,” the IRGC statement concluded. “These responses should serve as a lesson. We reiterate that disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the aggressor U.S. military.”