Pakistani official sees signs of ‘some sort’ of peace deal forming in Middle East

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 11, 2026

A Pakistani official said parties inched closer to an elusive peace between the U.S. and Iran on Tuesday, the latest murmur of progress as mediators scrounge for common ground on the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war.

Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Asi said a pact that eases tensions would benefit the wider Middle East.

“Things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal,” he told Bloomberg. “The signals in the last two, three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement.”

Mr. Asi projected optimism after Pakistani Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Tuesday.

For months, Pakistan has tried to play the role of mediator between the U.S. and Iran, hoping to usher in a breakthrough in the war that’s lasted over five months.

Progress has been elusive, however. Iran outlined a set of demands over the weekend in exchange for relinquishing its control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, including reparations for war damages.

President Trump responded with demands of his own, saying the only reparations paid should be money from Iran to victims of its violent campaigns against U.S. soldiers and Iranian protesters.

Mr. Trump launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon, though Iran retaliated by harassing commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The two sides have gone through cycles of violence and diplomacy since then, leaving a kind of stalemate even as mediators profess optimism from time to time.

Democrats in Congress say Mr. Trump should wind down the war, pointing to higher prices for gas and other goods at home.

Mr. Trump, meanwhile, is reverting to economic pressure on Iran through a naval blockade of Iranian shipping and ports. He says the situation in the strait is under U.S. control.

“Now, can they make trouble? Yeah, they can make trouble,” Mr. Trump said of Iran on Monday.

“You know Iran is broke, totally broke. They’re not paying their soldiers. They have inflation of 300%,” Mr. Trump said. “So, we’ll see what happens.”