Returning to MoU

Mediatory efforts received a shot in the arm as the warring sides in the ongoing Middle East conflict surprisingly toned down their confrontational rhetoric. Much transpired on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly session, where officials from the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan collaborated to break the stalemate in talks. Their primary focus was on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, normalising the global supply chain and bringing down oil prices. The nod from Tehran, which is devising a plan with Oman to reopen the strategic water channel in the Persian Gulf within the next seven days, is a promising development. Likewise, Qatar reaching out to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the consensus on brokering another ceasefire are momentous achievements. Pakistan pushed the envelope further by making both the US and Iran realise that going back to the Islamabad MoU is the way forward. This aspect has been squarely endorsed and appreciated by the UN secretary-general, too. The need of the hour is to ensure that de-escalation takes place instantly. Reports that a format is being worked out for resuming parleys are encouraging; incidentally, these reports emerged after a huddle in the Oval Office between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Pezeshkian demonstrated leadership when he told Fox News that his country is not interested in continuing the war and that the ball is in Washington's court. This needs to be read closely with reports that Tehran has hinted at reopening the Strait in exchange for the lifting of the US naval blockade and the unfreezing of its assets. This impasse is already taking a toll on global economics. The suspension of shipping through the Red Sea's Bab El-Mandeb - as the Houthis have triggered another conflagration - is unnerving. Any broadening of the conflict across Yemen and its spillover into the wider region would be catastrophic. A one-point move can help address all eventualities: Iran and the US must return to the understanding reached in Islamabad. Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, has convincingly floated that idea as the way forward.