Pakistan
31 briefs
China Confirms What India Already Knew. The Problem Is Why They Said It Now.
A year after the India-Pakistan war, Chinese state TV aired interviews with engineers who supported Pakistan's J-10CE jets during the fighting. India responded with a statement about 'reputation.' Neither reaction explains why China chose this moment to confirm it.
Iran Rejects U.S. Peace Terms as 'Surrender.' The Strait Stays Closed.
Tehran's counterproposal demands war reparations and full Hormuz sovereignty. Trump called it totally unacceptable. Drones are still flying.
One Year After Operation Sindoor: Both Sides Won, Neither Side Is Safer
India and Pakistan each claim victory in last May's four-day aerial war. The mutual claim of victory is not spin — it is the most dangerous thing about the ceasefire that ended it.
The Price of Playing Both Sides
Pakistan tried to mediate between the US and Iran. The UAE responded by expelling hundreds of thousands of Pakistani workers. That is what it costs to be indispensable.
One Year After Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's Army Chief Is Having Lunch at the White House
India launched precision strikes on Pakistan a year ago and claims strategic victory. But the country it was trying to isolate is now being embraced by the same mediator who stopped the war.
Trump Threatens More Bombs While Claiming Peace Progress on Iran
Sixty-eight days into a US war with Iran, both sides are inching toward a one-page memorandum while the president simultaneously threatens to escalate.
Trump Launched Project Freedom. Then Stopped It After One Day.
The Hormuz pause is not a concession to Iran. It is a test of whether Pakistan can deliver a deal before Iran's economy forces one.
One Year After Operation Sindoor, Both India and Pakistan Are Preparing for the Next War
The ceasefire is holding. The lessons both sides drew from the last conflict are not about how to prevent the next one. They are about how to win it.
Iran's 14-Point Proposal and the War That Neither Side Can End
Trump says he can't imagine it being acceptable. Iran says the nuclear question can wait. Neither is telling the truth about what they actually need.
Iran Offered a Deal. Trump Said No. The Blockade Continues.
Day 64 of the US-Iran war: a ceasefire holds in name while both sides blockade the world's most critical shipping strait and reject each other's terms.
Pakistan Staked Its Credibility on the Iran Deal. It Lost.
Army Chief Asim Munir flew to Tehran, hosted 21 hours of talks, and watched them collapse. The second round never happened. Iran just sent a new proposal anyway.
The Clock Trump Can't Stop
Iran sent a new peace proposal to Pakistan. Trump called it insufficient. Congress's 60-day War Powers deadline is still ticking.
Iran's Nuclear Sequencing Gambit
Tehran offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz now and discuss nuclear issues later. Washington says that is not a deal, it is a surrender.
The Ceasefire Mediator Bombs a University
Pakistan is mediating the US-Iran nuclear talks. It is also striking Afghan universities while a ceasefire with Kabul is supposed to be holding. These two facts are not separate.
The Islamabad Walkout: Iran Goes to Moscow as US-Iran Talks Die in Pakistan
Trump canceled his envoys' Islamabad trip while Iran's foreign minister was already on the ground. Now Araghchi is in St. Petersburg with Putin, proposing to decouple the Strait from the nuclear file. Washington rejected that last month too.
Iran Ceasefire Talks Break Down as War Powers Clock Ticks
With Trump's envoys a no-show in Islamabad and Tehran's diplomat already on a plane to Oman, the US faces a constitutional deadline in five days that neither side has acknowledged publicly.
One Year After India Struck Pakistan, Both Countries Are More Dangerous Than Before
Operation Sindoor destroyed nine terror camps and suspended a 60-year water treaty. India's military is meeting this week to plan what comes next. Pakistan is at the UN Security Council, running out of water, and building a disinformation campaign instead of a deterrent.
Iran Sends Diplomat to Pakistan, Refuses to Meet US Envoys
A ceasefire without a deal: both sides need the talks to succeed and both need to be seen not needing them.
The Iran Ceasefire That Neither Side Wants to Own
Trump extended the truce indefinitely but kept the blockade. Iran refused to send negotiators. Both sides are now waiting for the other to blink first.
The Iran Ceasefire Expires Wednesday and Trump Says He Won't Extend It
A 14-day pause in a seven-week war is about to end. The market gives a deal only 17% odds. The blockade of Hormuz is the real fight.
Iran Closes Hormuz Again. The Ceasefire Was Never a Ceasefire.
Tehran and Washington are each enforcing their version of the truce while calling the other side's actions a violation.
The Strait That Won't Stay Open
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is open. The US Navy says it is blockading Iranian ports. Both statements are true, and that gap is where the war continues.
The Ceasefire That Depends on the Blockade
Iran and the US are negotiating peace while simultaneously threatening the conditions that make peace impossible.
Israel and Lebanon Have a Ceasefire. Hezbollah Is Not Part of It.
The 10-day truce excludes the party doing most of the fighting. Israel has reserved the right to strike at any time. Hezbollah says occupied land gives Lebanon 'the right to resist.' This is not a ceasefire. It is a pause with paperwork.
The Blockade That Is Already Being Traded Away
Trump imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports after Islamabad talks failed. Iran offered a 5-year uranium pause. Markets say both sides want a deal before May.
The Islamabad Impasse
Twenty-one hours of talks, no deal, and a blockade announced before dawn.
No Deal in Islamabad
21 hours of direct talks between the US and Iran collapsed over nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire is now strain-tested with no replacement framework.
Pakistan's Both Sides
Pakistan is hosting US-Iran peace talks while simultaneously sending fighter jets to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact. The two moves are not contradictory. They are Pakistan's bet on being indispensable to everyone.
The Islamabad Gamble
Vance flew to Pakistan to negotiate a peace with Iran that neither side can fully afford to want.
China's Invisible Hand in the Iran Ceasefire
Beijing brokered peace through Pakistan, kept its fingerprints off the deal, and is now heading into the Trump summit holding the winning hand.
The Iran Ceasefire: Trump's Victory Lap Is a Cover Story
The deal was built on Iran's 10-point plan. Calling that a win requires ignoring what the plan says.