ne day, US President Trump tells the world that “good talks” are under way with Iran, the next day there is an expletive-laden threat.

In Trump’s own words, the war with Iran has been described as “perfect.” Also, it has “been won” by the US. Still it has been swinging between ceasefires and new rounds of strikes, since April, when the first ceasefire was announced.

President Trump was recently advised by his top advisers on the diminishing stockpile of missile interceptors and announced a pause in the strikes. Still, this pause, like other pauses in the US-Iran conflict, was temporary. According to the US Central Command X account, “US Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.”

The post mentioned that the two militaries “struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours.”

Saudi Arabia has said that it launched the strikes after Iranian-backed militias in Iraq targeted Saudi oil facilities. The Saudi foreign ministry said that they were not seeking escalation but would not hesitate to respond to any aggression.

The joint strikes targeted the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that banded together in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group, which had seized large parts of Iraq. Some of the militias in the PMF reportedly receive military and financial backing from Iran. The strikes resulted in the killing of at least 20 of the PMF fighters.

An Iranian military official denied Tehran’s involvement in projectiles launched from Iraq toward Saudi Arabia.

At the UN Security Council open debate on the situation in the Middle East, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, condemned the attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “Pakistan condemns attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all attacks against commercial shipping, which threaten global trade and regional security.” He said that “Pakistan is deeply concerned over attempts to drag the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into the conflict in the Middle East and reiterates its unwavering support for the security, sovereignty, territorial integrity and prosperity of the brotherly Kingdom.” He urged all sides “to exercise restraint, take immediate steps towards de-escalation and uphold respective commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” stressing that diplomacy and dialogue were key to a lasting peace.

The parallel pursuit of diplomacy and military action may signal a prolonged conflict, but it also suggests that the room for de-escalation remains.

“Peace is not simply a moral aspiration; it is a strategic necessity,” former ambassador to Iran and UAE, Asif Ali Khan Durrani, stated at a seminar on the Changing Dynamics of Power in the Middle East hosted by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs.

Ambassador Durrani said the parallel pursuit of diplomacy and military action might signal a prolonged conflict, but it also suggests that there remains room for de-escalation. He said hawks on both sides stress the question: who emerged victorious? He said the control of the Strait of Hormuz and other strategic choke points was a key factor that could push the conflict towards a full-blown war or result in cycles of strikes, brief pauses and renewed fighting.

Durrani said the fundamental reality of the US-Iran conflict was that “military superiority no longer guarantees political success.” He said, “Modern wars may destroy infrastructure, but they rarely eliminate political systems or resolve deep-rooted strategic disputes… Diplomacy is not a matter of choice, but a necessity.”

While many analysts see the Islamabad MoU under severe strain, Durrani point out that diplomacy takes time. “It (the Islamabad MoU) demonstrated that diplomacy can halt hostilities even after intense military confrontation. The challenge now is to transform a fragile ceasefire into a sustainable political process addressing the underlying causes of conflict.”

With the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel now approaching the six-month mark, 12 countries across the Middle East have become involved in the fighting. According to The Financial Times, this makes it “the most widespread war in the region for decades.”

The writer, a journalist and communications professional, is the manager at the Centre for Excellence in Journalism, IBA, Karachi. She can be reached on X:@mariaamkahn.