US and Iran near accord even as Gulf erupts

ISLAMABAD: American and Iranian negotiators have reached the outlines of a sweeping 60-day memorandum of understanding that would freeze their three-month-old war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted shipping, and launch direct negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program — but President Trump has yet to give his blessing, and the Gulf itself offered a stark reminder Thursday of how easily the arrangement could unravel.

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Pakistan plans strategic oil reserves and trader storage to counter Hormuz dependence

KARACHI: Pakistan is preparing to build its first strategic petroleum reserves and invite international traders to hold commercial stocks on its soil, a push aimed at shielding the economy from supply disruptions after years of relying on shipments through the volatile Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

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Pakistan marks nuclear anniversary with pledge of deterrence, not aggression

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared Thursday that Pakistan “harbors no aggressive intentions” against any country as the nation observed the 28th anniversary of its nuclear tests, a milestone that transformed it into the world’s newest declared atomic power and reshaped the balance of terror in South Asia.

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Dar to meet Rubio in Washington as Pakistan works to salvage fragile ceasefire in Middle East war

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday to discuss bilateral relations and Pakistan’s mediation efforts in the three-month-old conflict between the United States and Iran, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

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Iran war diplomacy lurches forward – and sideways – as Trump adds new demands

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump on Monday raised the stakes in delicate negotiations to end the nearly three-month war with Iran, declaring he would accept nothing short of a transformative agreement even as his own secretary of state cautioned that a breakthrough he had seemed to promise over the weekend remained elusive.

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Dar heads to New York for Security Council talks on UN Charter and global governance reform

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left Beijing on Tuesday for New York, where he is scheduled to take part in a United Nations Security Council open debate on preserving the core principles of the UN Charter and reinforcing the world body’s central place in international affairs.

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