CNN confirmed that Pakistan and Qatar are working to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table without revealing the results of these efforts so far.
Citing unnamed sources, the network said that Pakistan and Qatar are in intensive contacts between both Iran and the United States in an attempt to de-escalate the military and bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
Pakistan and Qatar were the main mediators in previous negotiations held in Switzerland, which ultimately resulted in the memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June and also helped Oman facilitate previous rounds of diplomatic talks.
For the third day in a row, the US military continues to strike sites and bases in Iran, especially those located on the coast, while Iranian forces and the Revolutionary Guards respond by striking "US bases located in Gulf countries".
CENTCOM announces bombing of military sites in Iran
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the implementation of military strikes targeting logistical infrastructure and military sites inside Iran, stressing that the operations came in response to what it described as Tehran's violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The U.S. forces will continue to deploy in the region and remain ready to hold Iran accountable, the Central Command said, noting that one of the goals of military operations is to reduce Iranian capabilities that could be used to threaten navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the US military, about 170 airstrikes were carried out over the past two nights, including 90 on Wednesday evening that targeted Iranian military sites, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance facilities, missile and drone depots, as well as naval capabilities and military logistical infrastructure along the Iranian coast.
The United States carried out airstrikes on Iranian military sites and ports early Thursday morning, while Tehran responded by targeting sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, in an escalation that has restored tensions to the Persian Gulf region.
Iranian official threatens to burn Gulf oil wells
Iran's Supreme Council for Cyberspace, Ezzatollah Zarghami, has threatened to target oil wells in the Gulf countries if US strikes on his country continue.
"If the attacks continue, inform the Gulf countries to close the doors of their oil wells, otherwise Iran will burn them," Zarghami said in a post on the "X" platform, adding that "the blow to Iran is a blow to all the energy and economic equations in the world."
Zarghami is a prominent conservative figure in Iran, serving as a member of the Supreme Council for Cyberspace, a supreme body for digital policies and the information field, and previously serving as Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, and chairing the Iranian Radio and Television Corporation for years.
Iranian official: Nuclear weapons are a political decision, not a technical one
Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of the Kayhan newspaper who is close to the Iranian leader, stressed that his country possesses the necessary knowledge and technical capabilities to produce a nuclear weapon, stressing that "the separation between Iran and nuclear weapons is the will, not the technology," and that any change in the current policy remains contingent on the decision of the Iranian leadership, according to statements quoted by Fars news agency.
The Kayhan newspaper considered that the US strikes represent "shooting at the heart of the memorandum of understanding", stressing that "there is no justification for continuing negotiations with the United States", and called on the Iranian Foreign Ministry to officially announce the end of the memorandum.
The newspaper called for escalatory measures, including closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil exports, putting the closure of Bab al-Mandeb on the agenda, as well as adopting a policy of "imposing costs" by striking disproportionate blows on US forces, considering that Washington "only understands the language of force."
Iran's Reformists: The Door of Diplomacy Has Not Been Closed
On the other hand, reformist figures insisted on the possibility of returning to negotiations, despite the military escalation, as former Iranian diplomat Kourosh Ahmadi wrote in the newspaper "Tzandaki" that the American response exceeded the size of the existing differences, but stressed that the history of Iranian-American relations proves that a return to dialogue remains possible even in the most severe crises.
He called for a common interpretation of the clause related to the Strait of Hormuz in the memorandum of understanding, warning that the strait could become the focus of a new confrontation between Iran and the United States if the dispute over it continues.
For his part, writer Majid Moradi considered that Trump's complaint that he did not receive enough European support during the NATO summit represents "a tacit acknowledgment of the war's failure to achieve its goals," asking why Washington is asking for additional support if it has already achieved its military goals.
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