Pakistani military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have returned home following a three-day diplomatic visit to Tehran, where they engaged Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators amid the ongoing Iran conflict. The visit signals Islamabad's active positioning as a regional interlocutor at a moment of elevated military tension involving a neighboring state. Munir's direct engagement with Iranian leadership is notable given Pakistan's historically complex relationship with both Iran and Gulf states, whose competing interests constrain Islamabad's diplomatic maneuverability. The substance of any proposed ceasefire framework or mediation terms was not disclosed publicly. Observers will watch for follow-on diplomatic movement, whether Tehran signals receptivity to Pakistani mediation, whether Islamabad engages Gulf or Western counterparts next, and whether the visit produces any measurable de-escalation. Pakistan's ability to sustain a credible broker role will depend on whether both sides treat Islamabad as a trusted neutral rather than a proxy for competing interests.
Iranian armed forces attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, briefly halting traffic through the waterway. The strike threatens a fragile US-Iran arrangement and could push shipping insurance costs and oil prices higher.
The US has struck Iran, with President Trump citing an Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz as justification. The action raises immediate risks for global oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints.
The US struck ten Iranian targets on the second consecutive day of military action, putting a fragile ceasefire under serious pressure. The escalation raises immediate risks for Gulf shipping, global oil supply, and regional stability.
Venezuela's twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have killed at least 164 people and injured 971, interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Thursday. The quakes are the country's strongest since 1900, collapsing buildings across Caracas and prompting a state of emergency, with the death toll expected to rise as
