Pakistan, July 13 -- The fiction that diplomacy can proceed on one track while missiles travel on another is becoming harder to sustain. US forces on Saturday night conducted a third round of strikes this week on Iran, this time in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Iranian missiles and drones have been directed at sites in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Oman. As Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador, the UAE condemned the attacks as violations of the sovereignty of Gulf states.

Quite interestingly, the Iranian delegation had travelled to Oman earlier in the day to continue negotiations. Between President Trump threatening to "decimate and destroy" Iran if the regime mad...