Trump touts assault on Iranian munitions depot as drawdown talks proceed

[ad_1] 34 minutes in the past Pakistan's ambassador warns Iran too 'war-torn' to respond quickly as Trump extends strike deadline

Pakistan’s U.S. ambassador warned Monday on "Special Report" that Iran is too "war-torn" to respond quickly in negotiations as President Donald Trump extends his strike deadline, while Islamabad pushes to facilitate talks aimed at ending U.S.-Iran hostilities.

Amb. Rizwan Saeed Sheikh cast Pakistan as an active facilitator in de-escalation talks, but warned that the process is complicated by Tehran’s diminished ability to communicate amid the chaos of war and damaged infrastructure.

"Iran is a war-torn country with the communication channels certainly disrupted, and it is not even easy to get responses in a good time from the system that currently is in place there," Sheikh said.

While he said "diplomacy is a gradual process," he also expressed hope that peace talks would soon proceed for the good of the region. He pointed to Iran's willingness to allow some oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as evidence that confidence was being built in the possibility of negotiations.

Trump also delayed his 48-hour deadline for Iran to clear the Strait of Hormuz, which was set to expire Monday evening, and ordered the Department of War to pause attacks on Iranian power infrastructure amid negotiations with Tehran. He said the U.S. has had "very good" talks that could lead to a "complete" end of hostilities.

Sheikh said a ceasefire is a good start to any negotiation process, "but it is, of course, upon the conflicting parties to reach an understanding there and indicate something good on that scope."

Pakistan faces its own hostilities with neighboring India and Afghanistan, and has a strong alliance with Saudi Arabia. But as the war grinds on and Islamabad tries to maintain relations with its regional neighbors as well as the U.S., China and Iran, analysts warn the nation's room for neutrality is shrinking.