00:00And let's talk a little bit about the international economy.
00:03The U.S. says it has raided a ship in the Strait of Homos after the IRGC captured two tankers.
00:09As the global economy suffers and the oil price rises,
00:13what pressure can be put on both sides to lift this double blockade?
00:18Because as you say, the implications it's having economically are grave.
00:23And the longer it carries on, the worse it will become.
00:26I think Iran has a stake in regionalizing this entire conflict.
00:30They don't want to confine it to their borders, which I think is a counterproductive strategy.
00:34I think countries which have very good relations with Iran as well as with the United States,
00:39countries such as Pakistan, obviously we've been talking about, as I said here in Islamabad,
00:44mediation to try and make sure that they can iron out their differences.
00:47And we come towards some sort of a memorandum of understanding,
00:51which ensures that security guarantees can materialize.
00:55But there are other countries as well.
00:56For example, China has a huge stake in ensuring that oil supplies continue
01:00and there's unfettered access for ships to actually cross the Strait of Homos
01:05into the Gulf of Oman, into the Arabian Sea.
01:07And obviously China does have enough amount of leverage on Iran as well.
01:11But the Iranian regime, I think, is being a major spoiler here.
01:15Obviously, with negotiations being called here in Islamabad
01:18and mediation being opened as a safe passage towards some sort of a workable solution.
01:24I think with J.D. Vance, the U.S. vice president, coming to Islamabad and then leaving,
01:28and the Iranian delegation rebuffing talks,
01:31I think there's limits to how much you can contain the Iranian regime
01:35or make them mailable enough to come and sit onto the negotiating table.
01:38I think a few very important levers that can actually be used is maybe to call for the lifting of
01:46the sanctions regime on Iran.
01:48But that will also mean emboldening of the IRGC,
01:50which we do understand has been a major spoiler in this entire post-ceasefire,
01:55or you could say during the ceasefire phase in the Strait of Homos.
01:59So it really doesn't depend on the United States, China, India, or Pakistan, for that matter.
02:04It also depends on Iran.
02:05And I don't think they're in any mood to de-escalate,
02:08and I think they're being a major spoiler in this entire situation.
02:11Yes, we can argue that American naval deployments have imperiled peace,
02:15but Iran's activities, whether it's mining or the IRGC,
02:18masking themselves and, you know, taking ships hostage,
02:22I think that's a huge major problem.
02:24So a few levers, I mean, I'll just put my answer to that.
02:27I think it's just exercise strategic leverage,
02:29maybe call for the end of the sanctions regime against Iran
02:33and come up with some sort of workable solution.
02:35But one party doesn't seem to be willing to negotiate,
02:38and that's a major problem.
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