With such escalation of the hostilities, USA is finding itself in total diplomatic quandary. Russia and China are also jumping on the bandwagon and motioning moves to further isolate USA.

There are clear indications that the United States is actively seeking to resume negotiations with Iran for an extension of the two-week ceasefire and a resolution of the stalemate over the navigability of the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump has unilaterally announced the possible resumption of the dialogues with Iran for resumption of the negotiations for achieving these goals. The Americans had disclosed that Iran’s offer on nuclear issue and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz had, among others, stalled the talks.

Donald Trump is insisting the talks resume at Islamabad in Pakistan, while some others are suggesting the these should be held in a more central location, such as, somewhere in Europe. The change of venue could ring to play possibly more wider representations.

Ironically enough, one of the biggest stumbling block, Iran’s nuclear programme, is only seeking to regain the terms which had already been achieved under the earlier JCPOA framework.

The JCPOA agreement, reached after protracted negotiations among leading nuclear powers, was revoked by Donald Trump after he became the US president for the second time. Iran had then walked out of its obligations under the JCPOA agreement and had embarked on much robust nuclear programme, raising possibilities of attaining nuclear weapons potential.

The Islamabad talks between USA and Iran had stalled on several issues, including the nuclear programme. Following the failure of the talks, the US had announced a blockade of the Hormuz Strait which effectively blocked movement of ships from and into the Strait. Oil movements through the narrow waterway had effectively stopped.

This had hit the economies of several countries which depended heavily on oil movements through the Hormuz Strait, including China and most Asian countries. The US announcement of blockade was roundly condemned by China as “dangerous and irresponsible”.

As a matter of fact, according to estimates no less than 40% of Chinese oil imports originated in Iran and China was anticipating serious depletion in its strategic oil reserves. China is estimated to have a massive oil in reserve totalling some 1.3 billion barrels.

The Chinese reserves could thus account for the country’s oil consumption for at least four months. Since the hostilities began in West Asia, China has been releasing oils from its reserves. However, after the blockade was imposed, China was getting restive about the prospects of longer term instability.

A new factor in the evolving situation was the rumblings from Russia, which even the USA was not in a position to altogether ignore. Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is currently visiting China, ostentatiously to lay the rounds for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin’s visit to China later in the year.

Russia has very strong relations with Iran, as also China. Both are suggesting wider talks for arriving at a reasonable solution. In a way, both Russia and China are throwing their weights into the negotiations more towards Iran than America. (IPA Service)