US-Israel-Iran War Highlights: US prepares for ground operations near Iran's Strait of Hormuz, Kharg Island

The Israel-Iran war has entered Day 28 with the conflict widening in impact even as tentative diplomatic openings emerge. Military action remains intense across multiple fronts, but there is also growing evidence that regional and international actors are trying to create a framework for indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran.

A key development today is the increasingly assertive position taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council. GCC Secretary General Jasem AlBudaiwi said Gulf states want to be directly involved in any talks or agreements aimed at ending the crisis, arguing that the war has moved far beyond a bilateral US-Iran or Israel-Iran confrontation.

He said Gulf countries have been directly affected by Iranian missile and drone attacks, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and wider threats to shipping, energy infrastructure and civilians. He also warned that Iran had been demanding payments from ships transiting Hormuz, deepening the legal and economic dimensions of the crisis.

At the same time, diplomacy appears to be inching forward. Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said US-Iran indirect talks are already taking place, with Pakistan acting as a messenger channel.

According to Dar, Washington has shared a 15-point proposal, now under review in Tehran, while Turkiye and Egypt are also supporting the effort. China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has described the current moment as a “glimmer of hope”, while Canada has publicly called for de-escalation, reopening Hormuz and a pathway that preserves civilian lives.

Despite this, military escalation continues. Israel said it killed IRGC Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri in an airstrike, a major claimed blow to Iran’s maritime command, and also announced fresh strikes in Isfahan. Meanwhile, Iranian missile attacks lightly injured six people in Israel, while the wider regional spillover remains serious: two people were killed and three wounded in Abu Dhabi after falling debris from an intercepted ballistic missile. On the Lebanon front, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has vowed continued resistance, and one Israeli soldier was killed in fighting against Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

The war’s economic consequences are now becoming global. Oil prices remain elevated, with Brent above $100 and WTI near $90, while governments are beginning to react. South Korea has announced a $17 billion wartime supplementary budget and fuel tax relief to cushion the energy shock. Even as Russia denied reports of a drone shipment to Iran, and Trump intensified his rhetoric against both NATO and Tehran, the overall picture remains one of extreme volatility: a war still expanding, but with a narrow diplomatic window just beginning to open.