Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had a hectic day Aug. 12, talking to heads of state in his country's vicinity and trying to elucidate what he views as security threats posed by a planned US-led mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

The strategic maritime pathway letting through 20% of the world's oil traffic has been at the center of recent rising tensions between Iran and the West. The United States has ramped up efforts to rally allies behind a naval mission, which it says aims to shield international shipping from Iranian threats in the strategic strait.

To counter that argument, Rouhani held separate phone conversations with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Iranian president gave the three leaders assurances that security in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman is a key foreign policy principle upheld by the Islamic Republic, reaffirming that it is only "joint efforts" by countries in the region that can create regional stability.

Rouhani told the Emir of Qatar — a tiny neighbor but a major energy-rich rival — that the US plan "will only further complicate the problems in the region." He expressed hope that "the Americans will realize the path they have taken is the wrong one and will have no winner."