The latest US-Iran exchanges, coming after months of confrontation are a grim reminder that military calm is not the same thing as peace. The danger now is that retaliation will acquire a logic of its own, making each successive escalation appear inevitable. For Pakistan, this is not a distant conflict. It is a strategic crisis unfolding in its immediate neighborhood. The renewed fighting comes as Washington has intensified economic pressure on Tehran and the security situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains precarious. Oil prices have risen sharply this week amid fears of further disruption to regional supplies.  U.S. economic pressure on Iran is intensifying, with recent sanctions and a blockade of oil exports severely impacting the Iranian economy. The latest measures have significantly hindered Iran’s ability to maintain foreign currency reserves, purchase goods, and utilize longstanding sanctions evasion tactics. The country faces a deepening economic crisis, with the Iranian rial plunging to record lows, inflation nearing 70%, and oil exports plummeting from 1.7 million barrels per day to 260,000. Iran is also contending with diminished access to international finance and disrupted trade routes, particularly through the UAE. The dwindling petrol reserves, soaring costs of imports, and collapsing labor market have heightened the risk of renewed public unrest.   U.S. Vice President JD Vance ruled out talks with Iran unless it halts attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by expanding its list of non-compliant ships subject to penalties when passing the strait, favoring Iraqi tankers. For a country already struggling with external financing requirements, an extended energy shock would be particularly unwelcome. But economics is only one part of the Pakistani concern. Pakistan shares a border and a long historical relationship with Iran. At the same time, its political, economic and security ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are of considerable importance. Islamabad therefore has little room for the binary choices that great-power rivalries often impose. Islamabad has already invested considerable political capital in trying to bring Washington and Tehran back towards negotiations. The Foreign Office says the recent visit of Field Marshal Asim Munir to Tehran was part of efforts to facilitate an end to the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and explore a negotiated settlement. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to restraint, dialogue and sustained........

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