Pakistan pitches mediator role in US-Israel-Iran war; Asim Munir, Trump hold talks: Report

Pakistan is positioning itself as the lead mediator trying to broker an end to the US’s and Israel’s war against Iran, reported The Financial Times, as the ongoing conflict in West Asia entered its fourth week.

Two officials familiar with the discussions told FT that Pakistan has pitched Islamabad as venue for talks in the coming days involving senior figures from the Trump administration and Iran. Two people briefed on the matter said senior Pakistani officials were back-channelling communications between Tehran and Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and envoy. Sharif has spoken to Pezeshkian multiple times since the war started.

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According to the report, Army chief Asim Munir spoke with Trump on Sunday while Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday.

The talks between the Pakistani and Iranian leaders coincided with President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would delay his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants following what he described as “very good and productive” discussions with Tehran aimed at ending the war. It remains unclear whether Pakistan’s mediation efforts were linked to Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform, which triggered a sharp fall in oil prices.

Turkey, which had been involved in mediation efforts before the war, is continuing outreach with Iranian officials and US envoy Steve Witkoff in a bid to secure a temporary ceasefire and create room for negotiations.

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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar held talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke on Sunday with his counterparts in Iran and Pakistan, as well as Witkoff and Qatar’s foreign minister, as diplomatic efforts intensified.

Iran’s foreign ministry denied any direct negotiations with the US since the conflict began, but said several regional countries were involved in mediation efforts.

“Over the past few days, messages were received via certain friendly states conveying the US request for negotiations to end the war,” Esmaeil Baqaei, the foreign ministry’s spokesperson, told official news agency IRNA.