ISLAMABAD: Talks between the United States and Iran were at risk of being derailed following Tehran’s attacks on Saudi Arabian industrial facilities, two Pakistani sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Tuesday, as the hours before President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash “hell” on the nation dwindled.
The next few hours of talks are critical, one of the sources said. Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington - 3:30 a.m. in Tehran - to end its blockade of Gulf oil or see the US destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran. Iran has vowed to retaliate against US allies in the Gulf, whose desert cities would be uninhabitable without power or water. Iran intensified its strikes overnight, hitting a Saudi petrochemical complex in the latest evidence of the nation’s ability to strike back against US-Israeli attacks.
The five-week-old war has killed thousands across the region, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and resulted in the worst-ever energy supply disruption in history due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the key artery used to transit one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas.
Pakistan has been the main go-between for proposals shared by both sides, but there has been no sign of a compromise.
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