Washington, Tehran and Tel Aviv are exchanging threats as commercial shipping, energy supplies and civilian lives face growing danger. The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, are both exposed to confrontation. Opening both waterways to safe navigation and stopping further escalation must be the immediate priorities. The R4 and the European E3 have an opportunity in Istanbul to move beyond general appeals for calm and launch a practical peace initiative. Its centrepiece should be Pakistan’s proposal to revive and update the Islamabad Peace Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), using the new grouping to bring the United States and Iran back to a negotiated framework, while pursuing parallel de-escalation with Israel.

The case for such an initiative is urgent because the existing diplomatic track has not held. Brokered with Pakistan’s mediation and signed by Washington and Tehran on 17 June 2026, the 14-point MOU was an interim ceasefire and bridge to a comprehensive settlement. It provided for the cessation of military operations on all fronts, reciprocal respect for sovereignty and non-use of force, and a 60-day period of negotiations. It addressed the naval blockade, oil exports, frozen assets, Hormuz passage and dialogue among Iran, Oman and Gulf states on maritime arrangements. On the nuclear file, Iran reaffirmed that it would not seek nuclear weapons; the disposition of enriched material and........

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