Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The United States and Iran have been in conflict since February 2026. Iran closed an important sea passage called the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan is helping the two countries talk. Pakistan's defense minister said a peace deal is close.
But both the US and Iran want money from each other. President Trump wants Iran to pay for people who were hurt or killed.
A Pakistani minister will also travel to Iran soon to help with the talks. Many countries hope for peace soon.
- conflict
- a serious disagreement or fight between groups
- strait
- a narrow strip of water connecting two seas
- defense minister
- a government official in charge of a country's military
- peace deal
- an agreement that ends a war or conflict
- compensation
- money paid to make up for harm or loss
- president
- the leader of a country
- travel
- to go from one place to another
- hope
- to want something to happen
Level 2 — Elementary
Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said on August 11 that the United States and Iran are close to some kind of arrangement, adding that a lasting peace would benefit the whole region.
The conflict began on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Since then, Iran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that carries much of the world's oil trade.
Even though a deal seems close, both sides are also hardening their demands. President Trump said he wants full control over the strait, and he is now demanding that Iran pay compensation to the US and to several other countries affected by the fighting.
Pakistan has taken on an important role as a mediator. Its interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, is expected to travel to Tehran soon to continue the talks.
- arrangement
- an agreement or plan worked out between people
- region
- a large area, often including several countries
- strike
- a military attack
- waterway
- a river, canal, or channel that ships can travel through
- demand
- a firm request for something
- control
- the power to direct or manage something
- mediator
- a person or country that helps two sides reach an agreement
- interior minister
- a government official responsible for internal affairs such as security
Level 3 — Intermediate
Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told reporters on August 11 that the United States and Iran are close to reaching some sort of arrangement, adding that a lasting peace would serve the interests of the broader region, offering fresh hope after months of stalled negotiations.
The conflict, which erupted on February 28, 2026, after joint US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, has left the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint through which a substantial share of global oil trade passes, largely blocked ever since Iranian forces began boarding ships and laying sea mines in the waterway.
Despite the signs of progress, both sides appear to be hardening their negotiating stances rather than softening them. President Trump has claimed he wants full control over the strait and, after Iran demanded reparations from Washington, turned the request around, insisting that Iran instead compensate the US as well as the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza for the effects of decades of conflict.
Pakistan has emerged as a central mediator in the negotiations, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expected to travel to Tehran shortly to keep the talks moving, even as neither Washington nor Tehran shows any sign of backing down from its latest demands.
- erupt
- to break out suddenly and violently
- chokepoint
- a narrow strategic passage that can be blocked to control the flow of traffic
- harden
- to become firmer or less willing to compromise
- negotiating stance
- the position a side takes while trying to reach an agreement
- reparations
- payments made to compensate for damage or harm caused by wrongdoing
- turn around
- to reverse a situation so the opposite happens instead
- central mediator
- the main party working to help two opposing sides reach agreement
- back down
- to withdraw from a position or demand under pressure
Level 4 — Advanced
Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Asif, signaled on August 11 that the United States and Iran are converging on some form of arrangement, characterizing a durable peace as squarely in the interests of the broader region, a rare note of optimism after a conflict that has ground on for the better part of six months.
The war, which erupted on February 28, 2026, following coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory, has left the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which a substantial share of the world's seaborne oil trade transits, largely impassable ever since the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began interdicting merchant vessels and seeding the waterway with sea mines.
Yet the appearance of momentum coexists uneasily with an equally visible hardening of positions on both sides. President Trump has asserted a claim to what he termed one hundred percent control of the strait and, in a pointed reversal after Iran sought reparations from Washington, insisted instead that Tehran compensate the United States as well as the populations of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza for decades of conflict he attributes to Iranian actions.
Islamabad has positioned itself as the indispensable intermediary in this fraught process, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi slated to travel to Tehran imminently to sustain the momentum, even as neither Washington nor Tehran has shown any inclination to retreat from its most recently staked-out demands.
- converge
- to move toward the same point or come closer together
- durable
- able to last a long time without weakening
- interdict
- to intercept and prevent the movement of something, especially by force
- impassable
- impossible to travel through or across
- reversal
- a complete change to an opposite position or decision
- attribute to
- to regard something as caused by a particular source
- indispensable
- absolutely necessary; unable to be done without
- fraught
- filled with difficulty, danger, or tension
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