Strait of Hormuz feud escalates, jeopardizing further US-Iran talks
The US Navy this weekend seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship seeking to break Washington’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran vowed to retaliate, and sent mixed signals on whether it would join further talks with the US in Pakistan this week. Hormuz traffic is now, once again, at a halt. The waterway whiplash is real: the Islamic Republic said on Friday the strait was open after Israel and Lebanon announced a ceasefire, but then reversed a day later over the US’s refusal to end its own blockade. Meanwhile, the Lebanon ceasefire is already in question after Israel said it struck a loaded rocket launcher in Lebanon overnight. Will the US and Iran meet again in Islamabad this week? With their two-week ceasefire set to end Wednesday, the clock is ticking…
Saudi Arabia puts Pakistan-Sudan weapons deal on hold
Just a few days after Sudan’s horrific civil war entered its fourth year, Saudi Arabia suddenly scrapped financing for a $1.5 billion Pakistani weapons shipment to the Sudanese army, per Reuters. It’s not immediately clear why Riyadh nixed the deal: the conflict in Sudan has become something of a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia, which backs the Sudanese army, and the United Arab Emirates, which supports the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). What’s more, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have significantly deepened their own defense collaboration in recent months. The report hints that Riyadh may be under Western pressure to stay away from proxy conflicts in Africa, but we await more details from the various players. In the meantime, there is no reporting to suggest that the UAE is backing off on its own involvement in the conflict, which has generated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and allegations of genocide and war crimes.
