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United States·Iran·Pakistan·Armed Conflicts·Diplomacy·Energy·Nuclear

US-Iran war escalates as Pakistan scrambles to revive collapsed ceasefire[Updated]

Tuesday, 21 July 2026, 06:14 · 2 min read
Updates
35d

The US has now completed a thirteenth consecutive night of strikes, with CENTCOM reporting successful hits on military command centers, drone storage facilities, communications networks, coastal surveillance sites, and naval capabilities in southern and southwestern Iran. Iranian sources reported four killed and seven wounded across Khuzestan and Hormozgan provinces, with explosions confirmed in Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, and several other locations as far east as Sistan-Baluchestan province; air defenses were also activated over Tehran. Trump separately threatened to use frozen Iranian assets to compensate any future damage to ships or cargo transiting the Gulf, writing on Truth Social that such damages would be paid from funds the US holds and controls — a move Araghchi called an "incendiary precedent," warning that normalizing asset confiscation would leave no nation's funds safe and that the resulting chaos "will not be pretty or peaceful."

Sources
37d

The conflict has now extended to an eleventh consecutive night of US strikes, with the campaign broadening to Iranian provinces not previously targeted. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told a Senate appropriations committee that the war has cost $37.5 billion to date — roughly $8 billion more than the administration's previous estimate of $29 billion — as part of a request for a $1.5 trillion defense budget that includes nearly $70 billion for the Iran war; Moody's Analytics puts the broader domestic cost as high as $150 billion. Trump warned he is "not finished," saying Iran would need 20 to 25 years to rebuild, and threatened for the second time in days to strike Pickaxe Mountain, a subterranean complex near the Natanz enrichment facility that Western intelligence agencies suspect houses an undeclared enrichment site. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who revealed he was pulled from rubble after US-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the war's first day, confirmed that Tehran had offered Washington a nuclear deal in the final Geneva talks, but said Oman's foreign minister told him the mood in Washington had suddenly shifted toward war shortly afterward.

Sources
Original story

The conflict between the United States and Iran has entered an intensified phase, with Washington expanding its airstrikes into Iran for a ninth consecutive night on Monday — including strikes near a city hosting a nuclear power plant — while Tehran has responded with its own attacks across the region. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced strikes on targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Syria, and Bahrain confirmed that its air navigation systems had been targeted. Oil prices surged to a one-month high as both sides battled for control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which a significant share of the world's oil and gas supplies flow.

The latest escalation follows the collapse of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, a 14-point interim ceasefire brokered by Pakistan and signed by the US and Iran on 18 June. The deal broke down amid disagreements over its interpretation, particularly over arrangements governing the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire "over" earlier this month, a position Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed on Monday, saying the two countries were now in a "full-scale war." Tehran has reimposed its blockade of the Strait, while Washington has responded by blockading Iranian ports. Despite the fighting, Iran's foreign ministry confirmed that diplomatic exchanges via mediators remain ongoing.

Pakistan, which shares a 900-kilometre border with Iran and has served as a key intermediary since hostilities began on 28 February, is pressing to revive peace efforts. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad late Monday at the head of a high-level delegation. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff, to discuss prospects for renewed mediation. Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi received Pakistan's newly appointed ambassador in Tehran, thanking Islamabad for its diplomatic role and identifying peace and security as the two countries' shared priorities.

The broader diplomatic landscape is also shifting elsewhere. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in talks that drew international attention given the absence of an obvious trigger such as a multilateral summit or state anniversary. Analysts have speculated the visit may be laying the groundwork for a possible trip to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, pointing to deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The convergence of these diplomatic signals — Iranian outreach to Islamabad, North Korea's engagement with Russia — underscores how the US-Iran war is reshaping alliances and alignments well beyond the immediate theatre of conflict. With the Strait of Hormuz partially closed and fuel prices rising globally, the pressure on mediators to find a durable settlement is mounting, even as the fighting shows no sign of abating.

Sources
Dawn — Araghchi identifies peace, security as key goals in relations with Islamabad ↗︎Dawn — Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrives in Pakistan ↗︎NPR World — Putin meets North Korean foreign minister in diplomatic push ↗︎
Also covered by
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This article was automatically compiled by AI from the sources above. It may contain inaccuracies. Always read the original sources for the full context.