WEST ASIA WAR DEEPENS: Iranian forces have stopped a Pakistan-bound container ship called SELEN from crossing the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions keep rising in the Middle East.
Iran stops Pakistan-bound ship from crossing Hormuz
The ship was travelling from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when it ran into trouble right at the entrance of this critical waterway.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the ship had to turn back because it lacked the required transit authorisation.
The situation around the Strait of Hormuz is pretty intense. With the conflict involving the US and Israel ramping up, Iran has basically shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
This is the narrow passage the Persian Gulf relies on to ship oil to the rest of the world—almost 20% of global oil runs through there. Attacks and threats have nearly brought oil tanker traffic to a halt.
BREAKING: Iran says the IRGC Navy turned back the container vessel Selen while it was heading to Karachi, Pakistan via the Strait of Hormuz, citing lack of required clearance. Tehran has reiterated that all ships must coordinate with Iranian authorities before transit. pic.twitter.com/0Og2RnX99O
— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) March 25, 2026
Why did Iran stop the Pakistani ship?
IRGC Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri made it pretty clear online: SELEN didn’t follow the legal protocols and didn’t have permission to enter the strait.
Every ship needs full coordination with Iranian maritime authorities before crossing, and, according to Tangsiri, Iran’s ability to enforce this comes from widespread national support.
Iran has made its position clear: They’ll manage navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and only let “non-hostile” vessels through if those ships arrange passage with Iran ahead of time, sometimes even paying for it. If a ship has ties to countries Iran sees as hostile, like the US or Israel, it isn’t getting through.
What is Pakistan’s role in the West Asia conflict?
With war continuing in the Middle East, Pakistan is attempting to establish itself as the broker bringing meaningful and final discussions between the US and Iran to cease war.
The fact that Islamabad has been courting US President Donald Trump, and that it is a relatively neutral country with long-standing relationships with the neighbouring Islamic Republic of Iran, is why it is a prospective host of talks.
The Iranian forces up to date, have not heeded to any form of negotiation. However, should Islamabad succeed in spearheading the negotiations, it would elevate the country of Pakistan to levels that it has not attained since the South Asian country spearheaded the covert diplomatic aperture that saw the US President Richard Nixon visit China in the year 1972.
It would also be directly beneficial in terms of an ending of war in Pakistan. Among the greatest fears of Islamabad is the risk of escalating the war in Iran into Pakistan, according to the reports.
It is already fighting against the Afghan Taliban and is also victimized by fuel hiccups due to Iran war.
What is the dispute between Iran and Pakistan?
The primary point of disagreement between Iran and Pakistan in the conflict over West Asia revolves around cross-border security and claims that the countries are harboring militante factions in the unstable Balochistan province.
The countries previously cooperated well, but in January 2024, they exchanged air strikes against so-called separatist groups (Jaish al-Adl and Baloch separatist groups).
Why is Pakistan rushing to end the Iran war?
Pakistan is one of the worst hit by the fact that the war between the US and Israel with Iran has disrupted the world markets of energy.
Persistent shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz which is a major shipping pathway through which approximately half of the global oil and seaborne liquefied gas transit is, has struck Asian supplies.
Pakistan depends on the Gulf states as the main source of the crude oil imports and almost all its liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In the oil and gas crunch, the prices of fuel in Pakistan shot up by 20-21 per cent with petrol doubling to PKR 321-336 per litre and diesel doubling to PKR 281-336 per litre in early March.
To Pakistan, the financial impact of a long war in West Asia would be difficult to accept because it does not have diversified energy imports, strategic oil deposits and monetary cushions to fund part of its energy demands as Moneycontrol reveals.
By playing the role of a mediator, Islamabad is therefore exploiting the fact that they are in the good graces of the present Trump administration. The president of the US has not been shy about his affection towards Munir who was invited by Trump to the White House last year.
