Iran conflict tests Pakistan amid own border clashes as Islamabad touted as venue for US-Tehran talks

Pakistan is walking a tightrope as the Iran war intensifies, with that balance growing more precarious with each passing day.

Islamabad has so far pursued cautious diplomacy, condemning the strikes on Iran, while simultaneously urging de-escalation. But analysts warn it cannot remain insulated from competing pressures.

“Pakistan is putting itself forward as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran, but unconvincingly,” Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Fox News Digital. “Its own record of staying out of military entanglements is unimpressive.”

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At the forefront of the tensions is a new defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, which states that aggression against one will be treated as a threat to both. Widely seen as one of Pakistan’s most consequential defense agreements, it commits the country to Riyadh, while risking confrontation with Iran.

Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed Muslim state, already has troops stationed in Saudi Arabia for training and defense support and has said there is “no question” of coming to the kingdom’s aid.

“Remember, Pakistan is geographically part of both South Asia and Central Asia, as well as the wider Gulf/MENA region too. Pakistan has always pursued peace, dialogue and order because we know what war does to our region,” Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for foreign media to the Pakistani prime minister, told Fox News Digital.

Within days of the war’s outbreak, the country’s army chief, General Asim Munir, made an “emergency” visit to Saudi Arabia, where top officials discussed joint responses to Iranian strikes. It was the first true test of the pact.

Relations are strong between the two nations, and Riyadh remains a key economic lifeline for Islamabad. Saudi Arabia has already been making arrangements to support energy supplies, as war-driven fuel disruptions hit import-dependent Pakistan.

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Yet Pakistan’s relationship with Iran is equally critical. 

The two share a 565-mile border along with deep trade ties and significant religious connections. 

Pakistan is home to the world’s second-largest Shiite community after Iran. Pro-Iran regime protests in the wake of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination turned deadly, forcing military intervention and curfews.

Maintaining ties with Tehran is crucial for containing domestic tensions and staving off an insurgency from the minority Baloch community there.

Iran is also an important economic partner to Pakistan, which has been facing a severe economic crisis. The two conduct significant trade, with a new goal of $10 billion by 2028.

Pakistan’s foreign minister has held “constant conversations” with his Iranian counterpart throughout the conflict. And last week, a Pakistani oil tanker transited the essentially blockaded Strait of Hormuz. Analysts noted it was the first non-Iranian cargo ship to do so since tensions escalated, suggesting that safe passage may have been negotiated. Officials add that more Pakistan-bound oil tankers are likely to cross the strait in the coming days.

Most of Pakistan’s crude and LNG imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. But as the war grinds on, analysts warn Pakistan’s room for neutrality is shrinking. 

Pakistan recently went against Iran, backing a Gulf-led resolution at the United Nations condemning regional aggression. Russia and China abstained.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister just called for regional coordination in separate ​calls with Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt.

At the same time, Islamabad must also navigate relations with Washington, yet another key partner.

Under President Donald Trump’s second term, Pakistan has sought closer relations with the U.S., even floating his name for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Questions are also emerging in Washington. During a White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was coordinating with the Pentagon to assess whether Pakistan is supporting Iran, while describing India as a “good actor.”

India’s positioning has added further pressure, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel.

“There is no contradiction in being absolutely committed to peace, dialogue and order. The strong relationships Pakistan has with the United States, with Saudi Arabia, with Iran and with China are a testament to Pakistan’s commitment,” the Pakistani prime minister’s spokesperson, Zaidi said.

So far, Pakistan has effectively positioned itself at the forefront of mediation efforts to end the ongoing conflict, leveraging its ties with all three powerhouses.

Reports indicate that high-level talks between the U.S. and Iran are set for Islamabad as early as this weekend.

“Pakistan wants to matter to the U.S. and to be a better partner than India. Because the Afghan Taliban have alienated Islamabad since 2021, there are few remaining sore points between the U.S. and Pakistan, with the latter able to present as an ally against terrorism,” Fitton-Brown said. “And most regional parties want to see the crisis end sooner rather than later. But nobody wants to see the Islamic Republic strengthened in Iran.”

The spiraling war comes at a critical time for Pakistan’s already stretched military. Tensions with India remain elevated, while border clashes, airstrikes, drone attacks and rising civilian casualties have become the norm with once friendly neighbor Afghanistan.

The nations nosedived into an “all-out war,” just days before the Iran conflict broke out, and the violence shows no signs of easing after fresh Pakistani strikes recently hit the Afghan capital city of Kabul.

“This geography and the region’s history is why Pakistan steadfastly rejects India’s efforts at regional hegemony, it is why Pakistan is pursuing a termination of the Afghan Taliban regime’s support for terrorist groups,” Zaidi said. “We seek a complete cessation of terrorism emanating from territory currently controlled by the Afghan Taliban.”

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With Pakistan already managing tensions on both its eastern border with India and its western frontier with Afghanistan, a destabilized Iran could push that strain further.

“If Islamabad is destabilized, it will be extremely bad news regionally and globally,” Edmund Fitton-Brown told Fox. “The idea of a nuclear power under jihadi rule doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Obama intel chief angered president at meeting by asking if he’d tolerate Iran having nuclear weapon

Former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair once angered then-President Barack Obama during a White House meeting on Iran, after he pressed Obama on whether he could tolerate the nation obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to newly released oral history interviews.

“When it came my turn to speak at this meeting,” Blair said, “I said, ‘Mr. President, you really just have one decision to make… Are you going to tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon or not?’” He added that rejecting a nuclear Iran would require espionage and military options, while acceptance would mean a strategy to contain and deter Iran.

The exchange, documented in interviews conducted by the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and reported by The New York Times, offers a window into internal divisions within the Obama administration as officials debated how to respond to Iran’s nuclear program.

Blair said the moment prompted a sharp warning from Obama.

“The president took me aside after that meeting and said, ‘Denny, don’t ever put me on the spot like that again,’” he recalled. “I said… ‘Yes, sir, Mr. President. I certainly won’t.’” He added, “I was kept out of meetings from that time forward.”

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Blair described the meeting as one that had been presented as an opportunity to provide input on Iran policy, and he made the “mistake” of thinking Obama was honestly looking for “fresh insights.”

Blair served as Obama’s DNI from the start of his presidency in 2009 until he resigned at Obama’s request in May 2010.

Obama would go on to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal during his second term, which his administration hailed as a landmark diplomatic achievement that limited the country’s nuclear ambitions while avoiding bloodshed. Its critics savaged the deal as mere appeasement that granted unearned sanctions relief to the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. 

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018.

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The released oral histories also include accounts of internal political discussions within the Obama White House, including deliberations over Vice President Joe Biden’s potential 2016 presidential bid.

David Plouffe, a top political strategist, urged Biden not to enter the race, telling him, “There’s no room. There’s just no room for you.”

Plouffe added, “I’m concerned about you as a human being. I’m not sure you’re in a state to run.”

Biden, who mourned the death of his son Beau in 2015, announced later that year that he would not enter the Democratic race, which came down to a heated battle between Hillary Clinton, Obama’s preferred candidate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

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Clinton would go on to win the nomination and lose the general election to Donald Trump.

Obama’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment. 

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Trump delays Xi meeting as Iran conflict lets US strong-arm China’s oil supply

President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the U.S.’ conflict with Iran unfolds is raising a new question in Washington: whether pressure on global oil flows is factoring into U.S. leverage with Beijing. 

The summit originally had been planned for March 31 to April 2, but Trump said on March 16 that he had asked China to delay it by “a month or so,” explaining, “We got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.” 

The following day, Trump said the meeting would instead take place in “about five or six weeks,” adding, “We’re working with China — they were fine with it.”

“The president has some things here at home in May that he has to attend to,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters March 16, adding that the two sides would set a date “as soon as we can.”

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At the same time, U.S. strikes on Iran — and earlier pressure on Venezuela — have been affecting countries central to China’s energy supply, disrupting shipping and raising costs without fully cutting off flows. 

China remains the largest buyer of Iranian oil, and shipments are still moving despite the conflict. But increased risk, higher prices and logistical disruptions are squeezing one of Beijing’s most important energy lifelines — raising the prospect of Washington gaining leverage by driving up the cost and risk of the oil China depends on.

Pressure on China’s energy and influence

In recent months, U.S. actions have hit two countries where China has built deep economic ties — Venezuela and Iran, both tied to Beijing through oil and investment.

In 2023, China helped broker a deal restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a move widely seen as a sign of Beijing’s growing influence in the Middle East. That détente is now under strain as the conflict escalates, exposing the limits of China’s ability to sustain stability once fighting begins.

Those developments point to China’s position more clearly: a global power with significant economic reach, but limited willingness — and potentially limited ability — to shield its partners when conflict escalates.

“It is very much connected,” said Brent Sadler of the conservative Heritage Foundation Washington think tank. “It’s all connected to China at the end of it.”

For Beijing, the stakes are primarily economic. China is the world’s largest oil importer, and disruptions to Iranian supply can raise costs, complicate logistics and reduce access to discounted crude that has helped fuel its economy.

At the same time, the conflict itself is rooted in long-running tensions with Iran, including its nuclear program, missile capabilities and support for regional proxy groups.

“It’s not all about China,” said Piero Tozzi of the America First Policy Institute. “It’s primarily about Iran.”

That distinction — between what is driving the conflict and what it affects — has shaped the debate in Washington over how much the fallout could influence broader U.S.-China dynamics.

The delay adds another layer to that dynamic, coming as energy markets tighten and U.S.-China discussions continue.

Oil flows disrupted — but still moving

China’s dependence on Iranian oil remains a central vulnerability, even as the conflict disrupts shipping lanes and raises risks in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly half of China’s seaborne oil imports pass.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply and become far more volatile, with only limited oil shipments still getting through under heightened risk.

Iran accounts for roughly 13% of China’s crude imports, while China remains Tehran’s largest customer, purchasing an estimated 80–90% of its exports.

Much of that oil is sold at a discount — often $8 per barrel to $10 per barrel — giving Chinese refiners access to cheaper crude that is difficult to replace elsewhere.

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Much of the trade is handled by smaller independent “teapot” refineries, allowing Beijing to maintain imports while limiting exposure of its state-owned energy companies to U.S. sanctions.

In many cases, those transactions are conducted in yuan rather than dollars, with proceeds often recycled into Chinese goods and infrastructure projects.

“One of China’s long-term objectives is challenging the supremacy of the dollar,” Tozzi said.

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“It’s going to be hard to turn off the supplier side of this,” Sadler said, pointing to the entrenched networks that keep crude moving despite sanctions and conflict.

Those networks — built over years of sanctions — allow Iranian oil to be rerouted through indirect channels, often using tankers that operate outside traditional tracking systems.

For China, that means continued access to supply, but at higher cost and greater risk, as shipments become more difficult to move and insure.

The result is sustained pressure rather than a cutoff: fewer shipments, higher prices and increased uncertainty around a supply line Beijing has come to rely on.

The Trump administration also has taken an unusual step to stabilize energy markets, temporarily easing sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on tankers to allow those barrels to be sold. The short-term waiver, covering an estimated 140 million barrels, is aimed at easing supply disruptions caused by the conflict.

But it also widens access to oil that had largely been flowing to China, increasing competition for those barrels rather than allowing Beijing to remain the dominant buyer.

The U.S. also has eased some restrictions on Russian oil in recent weeks, allowing additional supply to flow to Asia. Taken together, the moves are reshaping global oil flows — forcing China to compete more directly for supply rather than relying as heavily on discounted crude.

U.S. intelligence assessments reflect similar limits, describing the China-Iran relationship as economically significant but largely transactional rather than a coordinated strategic bloc.

Combat experience — and a strain on stockpiles

The Iran conflict is giving U.S. forces real-world experience that cannot be replicated in training environments, allowing different branches of the military to operate together under live conditions and test how their systems perform.

“There’s a lot of real-world experience getting gained,” Sadler said. “We are refining our capabilities in a massive way.” 

But those gains come with costs. 

“We’re also wearing down our sailors, as well as the material, the aircraft and the ships.”

The same stockpiles being used in the Middle East would be needed to deter any conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

“We don’t produce munitions at the speed and capacity that we should be. It’s not a new problem,” Sadler said. “We’re going to go through a lot of our interceptor missiles very quickly.”

He warned that at current production rates, inventories could last only “maybe a week or two,” assuming they are used judiciously.

As of late 2025, the U.S. had roughly 414 SM-3 interceptors and 534 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THADD) interceptors, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. THAAD is one of the U.S. military’s primary systems for intercepting ballistic missiles in their final phase of flight.

Those systems have been used heavily in recent Middle East operations, and they also would be central in any potential conflict with China, particularly in defending U.S. forces and allies in the Indo-Pacific from missile attacks.

Drawing down those stockpiles now raises a practical concern: the more the U.S. uses these interceptors in the Middle East, the fewer are immediately available for a high-end conflict with Beijing.

China keeps its distance

Beijing has avoided direct involvement in the U.S.–Israel conflict in Iran, focusing on diplomacy, with its deep oil reserves as a fallback. 

“They’re all very opportunistic,” Sadler said. “They don’t want to take any undue risk.” 

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“The more diplomatic noise they make, the more it draws attention from their incapacity to stand up for their partners,” he said.

The conflict’s effects extend beyond the region, testing China’s role as a global power while forcing the United States to weigh immediate military demands against its longer-term competition with Beijing.

“China strongly urges the parties involved to immediately cease military operations, return to dialogue and negotiation, avoid further escalation of the situation, and prevent regional instability from having a greater impact on global economic development,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital. “Energy security is crucial to the world economy, and all parties have a responsibility to ensure a stable and unimpeded energy supply. We are also maintaining communication with all parties regarding the current situation and are committed to promoting de-escalation.”

Megan Rapinoe praises Iranian women’s soccer team’s ‘bravery’ after facing criticism

Former U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe spoke out in support of the Iranian women’s soccer team amid the players’ trials and tribulations over the last few weeks while competing in Australia.

The Iranian women’s soccer team was in Australia earlier this month to compete in the Women’s Asian Cup. Players were seen refusing to sing their country’s national anthem as the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military campaign on the Iranian regime. The players were dubbed “wartime traitors” by an Iranian broadcaster for their decisions during the tournament.

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Australian officials then raced to try to get the players asylum in the country. At least two players stayed in Australia while the rest of the team made it back to Iran.

Rapinoe praised the “bravery and courage” of the women.

“I’m just thinking about this in the context of, like, the immense pressure that these young adults and these young women are under to make a decision like this,” she said on the “A Touch More” podcast. “Like, the incredible courage and bravery it would take knowing what that could potentially mean for their family back home. The bravery and courage to protest the national anthem, basically in protest of the Iranian regime and not singing the national anthem during a match. The stress and uncertainty they’re facing – their family, their loved ones. What does that all mean for back home?

“I, of course, fully support their decisions to seek asylum and seek a better life and to try to escape an incredibly oppressive regime in that situation. I don’t know what’s going on with them and why some of them left and however that is. I hope the ones that returned home have done so under their own free will and choice and that their families are safe, that they’re safe, and their friends are safe. I hope the ones that have chosen to stay feel a sense of peace and hope about a potential for a new life in Australia or otherwise.”

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Rapinoe added that she was “in awe of their courage.”

The former U.S. soccer star faced scrutiny for not speaking out as the saga was unfolding in the country. Piers Morgan was among those who labeled Rapinoe as “hypocritical.”

“The silence over this from Rapinoe, and so many supposed ‘feminists’ like her, is so telling, damning, and hypocritical,” he wrote in a social media post. “They’d rather campaign for biological men to wreck women’s sport than campaign for these heroic young sportswomen to help save their lives.” 

She didn’t address her critics in her latest podcast episode with Sue Bird.

Initially, seven of the Iranian women’s soccer players accepted asylum but turned around and declined the opportunity at the last minute. Two players who stayed were seen training with one of the country’s premier clubs last week.

The Australian government faced criticism for not working fast enough to get to the players.

“We ended up with an outcome that is certainly far from ideal,” Graham Thom, an advocacy coordinator for the Refugee Council of Australia, told The Associated Press.

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“Hopefully the two who are remaining get the protection they need, but we just hope that those who have returned are also safe.”