Gulf allies ask Trump to hold off on planned Iran strikes

Diplomatic traffic around the Iran war thickened on May 18 as Pakistan reportedly shared a revised Iranian proposal with the United States aimed at ending the fighting. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said talks between Iran and the United States were still continuing through Pakistani mediation. The same day, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said any passage through the Strait of Hormuz that was not coordinated with the authority and the Iranian armed forces was illegal.

United States president Donald Trump said he had called off military strikes against Iran that had been planned for the following day. He said the decision followed requests from Middle East allies, naming Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Emirati president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Trump pointed to serious negotiations already underway as the reason for the delay.

Oil markets still treated a longer disruption as a live risk. Prices rose amid fears of a prolonged war and the draining of world oil reserves. West Texas Intermediate reached 102.76 dollars a barrel and Brent Crude reached 112.89 dollars a barrel.

Pakistan, which was already mediating, also moved forces under its defense arrangement with Saudi Arabia. The deployment included 8,000 troops, HQ-9 air defense systems, and a full air force squadron, mostly of JF-17 fighter jets. The move sat alongside the talks rather than replacing them.

By May 19 Iran had confirmed that it sent the United States a proposal for ceasefire talks. The reported terms included a withdrawal of American troops from areas close to Iran, an end to conflicts in the region, and compensation for damages caused by the war. Vice president JD Vance said progress had been made on the nuclear file, while also saying the United States was ready to resume strikes if talks failed.

On May 20 Baghaei said Iran had received a new United States proposal and was reviewing it, as Pakistani interior minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Tehran. Saudi channels reported that Islamabad was likely to host another round after the Hajj. At sea, two Chinese supertankers carrying four million barrels of crude left the strait after two months inside the Gulf, a South Korean-flagged tanker made the first South Korean passage since the war began, and the Iranian Navy said 26 ships had been allowed through in the previous 24 hours.