People are wondering and asking what exactly happened after the Iranian president’s announcement on Saturday that there would be no further attacks on Iran’s neighbours, provided those neighbours did not allow attacks on Iran from their soil.

The question arises because that same evening, Iranian attacks were reported on the UAE and other Gulf states. To many observers, the events appeared contradictory. On the one hand, there was a message that seemed to point towards restraint; on the other, the continuation of missile and drone strikes across the Gulf.

Iran’s position, however, had come with a clear condition. Tehran said it would not target neighbouring countries so long as attacks against Iran were not launched from bases located on their territory. In practical terms, this was Iran sending a very direct signal to the Gulf states: the presence of American military bases on their soil had effectively turned those countries into potential targets.

In other words, Iran was saying that the bases were no longer merely instruments of security for the Gulf monarchies. They had become liabilities.

Yet the Iranian president’s statement was still widely interpreted as an opening for de-escalation. It came after intense diplomatic engagement from several regional actors who were deeply alarmed by the widening scope of the conflict.

Among the countries involved in this quiet but urgent diplomacy was Pakistan. Islamabad, along with others, had reportedly impressed upon the Iranian leadership the dangers of allowing the conflict to expand into the wider Muslim world.........

© The Friday Times