Pakistan’s role is not to impose a settlement, but to ensure that when either side is prepared to step back from confrontation, a diplomatic channel and a workable framework remain available.

It has not retreated on Hormuz, describes a return to pre-war conditions as no longer possible, and asserts absolute sovereignty and initiative in the strait.

The fate of the Islamic Republic will be determined not by military superiority alone but by the outcome of this longer and more uncertain struggle. It is precisely there that Israel has now turned all of its attention.

Hardline factions such as the Paydari Front, whose ideological rigidity and institutional foothold in parliament and the media give them considerable discursive weight, remain a domestic pressure point that Iranian decision-makers must carefully navigate.

The course of the war reveals a fundamental paradox: while none of the principal actors appears capable of achieving a decisive victory, all retain sufficient capacity to obstruct a stable resolution.

Israel's chronic problem is the gap between tactical victory and strategic success.

Iran’s protests stem from more than hijab politics, but rather caused by a deep economic collapse

For Tehran, the Zangezur Corridor thus represents less a binary choice between obstruction and acquiescence than a test of its ability to align strategic red lines with policy innovation.

Tehran seeks an exit from a potential crisis with the U.S., while Israel pushes preemptive options to guarantee its safety