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The Fragile Ceasefire at Risk Islamabad has rejected allegations that it sheltered Iranian military aircraft from potential US strikes as the fragile ceasefire it helped broker between Washington and Tehran appears increasingly at risk. The diplomatic tensions come as US President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's latest peace proposal as "a piece of garbage" that he had not even finished reading, describing the month-old truce as being "on massive life support." Pakistan's Diplomatic Dilemma The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan called the CBS News report about Iranian aircraft being moved to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan "misleading and sensationalised," stating the aircraft had arrived as part of diplomatic logistics for talks in Islamabad between US and Iranian officials on April 11. Pakistan emphasized that both Iranian and US aircraft used the base during the ceasefire period, and any significant foreign military presence at the base would be impossible to hide. "The Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire period and bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement," the ministry said, adding that Pakistan had "consistently acted as an impartial, constructive and responsible facilitator" throughout the process. Washington's Growing Skepticism Despite Pakistan's denials, concerns in Washington have grown. A CNN report suggested some Trump administration officials believe Pakistan has been sharing "a more positive version of the Iranian position with the US than what reflects reality" while questioning whether Islamabad was "aggressively conveying Trump's displeasure." US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, called for "a complete reevaluation" of Pakistan's mediator role. However, analysts suggest the controversy is unlikely to significantly damage Islamabad's position. "Pakistan has done more than many had expected. Delivering a ceasefire in an environment marred by sheer distrust was no mean feat," said Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, deputy director at the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore. Deadlock in Peace Negotiations The immediate trigger for the latest tensions was Washington's rejection of an Iranian peace proposal delivered through Pakistan on Sunday. Iranian state media said Tehran's terms included US war reparations, full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of frozen assets, while insisting nuclear negotiations be deferred. "I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support," Trump said in the Oval Office, describing the situation as one "where the doctor walks in and says, 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1 percent chance of living.'" Iranian officials rejected this characterization, calling their proposal "reasonable and generous" and insisting they had demanded "only Iran's legitimate rights." Regional and International Ramifications The core disagreements between Washington and Tehran remain unchanged. The US wants Iran to explicitly abandon its nuclear program and surrender its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent, while Tehran insists nuclear negotiations can only follow the lifting of sanctions and the end of the US naval blockade imposed on its ports. Since the Islamabad talks ended without an agreement on April 12, Pakistan has continued to act as an intermediary, carrying proposals between the two sides. Qatar has also backed the mediation effort, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Miami, Florida. Path Forward Amid Uncertainty Trump is expected to discuss the Iran crisis with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing this week, as Washington hopes Beijing could use its influence with Tehran. China is Iran's biggest economic and strategic partner, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing last week. The Iranian foreign minister is also expected to attend a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in India, alongside top diplomats from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. "For the ceasefire, this is actually stabilising. More parties with skin in the game raise the cost of collapse for everyone," said analyst Mohanad Seloom. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that if Iran's nuclear material could not be removed through negotiations, Israel and the US agreed "we can re-engage them militarily." Former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani warned that the weaponisation of the Strait of Hormuz was "the most dangerous outcome" of the conflict, suggesting the crisis would outlast any ceasefire.

The LeadThe United States-Israel war on Iran is not the result of a sudden escalation but the culmination of a long-term Israeli agenda to violently reshape the Middle East, former Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani tells Al Jazeera. Netanyahu's 'Illusion' and the US MisstepSheikh Hamad had warned of an impending conflict last year and urged Gulf states to push for a diplomatic resolution to resolve the crisis with Iran and prevent military strikes. He identified a push for a conflict with Iran and blamed it on a 'hardline faction' within Israel led by Netanyahu, who he said had been trying to drag the US into a war over Tehran's nuclear programme since President Bill Clinton's administration in the 1990s. The Strait of Hormuz: A New Global FlashpointAssessing Tehran's strategy, Sheikh Hamad said Iran successfully absorbed the initial military strikes of the war and subsequently dragged its feet on a settlement after realising it could leverage a new strategic advantage: the Strait of Hormuz. Calling the weaponisation of the waterway the 'most dangerous outcome' of the war, he warned that Iran is now treating the vital international chokepoint as its own sovereign territory. A Call for a 'Gulf NATO'In one of his most blunt assessments, Sheikh Hamad declared that the greatest threat to the Gulf is neither Iran, Israel nor foreign military bases but internal Gulf disunity. To counter this, he proposed the creation of a 'Gulf NATO', a joint political and defence project starting with a core group of strategically aligned Gulf nations with Saudi Arabia serving as its natural backbone. Gaza, Normalisation and a Late-1990s SecretTurning to the issue of Palestine, Sheikh Hamad condemned the killing of civilians on all sides but accused Israel of committing a 'moral and political disaster' in Gaza, where more than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's genocidal war began in October 2023.