Why Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between US and Iran
ISLAMABAD– As fears of a broader regional conflict intensify following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, Pakistan has emerged as an unexpected mediator, offering to help bring Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table.
Islamabad is not often called upon to play the role of broker in high-stakes diplomacy, but it played that role this time for a number of reasons, both because it has relatively good relations with Washington and Tehran and because it has high stakes in resolving the war.
Pakistani government officials said their public peace efforts followed weeks of quiet diplomacy, although they provided few details. They also said Islamabad was ready to host talks between representatives of the United States and Iran.
Here’s what you need to know about Pakistan’s mediation effort:
Pakistan’s role in the Iran-US negotiations surfaced only a few days ago following media reports. Islamabad officials later acknowledged that a US proposal had been conveyed to Iran.
It remains unclear who served as Iran’s point of contact in the indirect talks. Iran claimed it had not held such talks and rejected the US proposal, but Tehran acknowledged responding with its own proposals.
According to Pakistani officials, American messages are transmitted to Iran and Iranian responses are relayed to Washington, although they did not specify how the process is managed or who communicates directly with whom. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said this week that Turkey and Egypt were also working behind the scenes to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
Abdullah Khan, director general of the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies, said Pakistan’s mediation efforts could contribute to relative restraint in the conflict. He noted that U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed threats of large-scale attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure citing diplomatic progress, and that Iranian responses to U.S. interests in the Gulf have been measured against what may be an effort to preserve space for diplomacy.
Previous negotiations between the United States and Iran were facilitated mainly by Middle Eastern countries, including Oman and Qatar, but as they came under Iranian fire during the war, Pakistan took over.
Analysts say Pakistan’s geographic proximity to Iran – it is one of its neighbors – coupled with its long-standing ties to the United States, gives it a unique position at a time when direct communication between the two sides remains limited.
Islamabad maintains good working relations with most of the major parties to the war, including the United States and Iran. It maintains close strategic ties with the Gulf states, notably Saudi Arabia, with which it signed a defense cooperation agreement last year. However, Pakistan does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel due to the ongoing issue of Palestinian statehood.
Relations between the United States and Pakistan have improved since last year, with increased diplomatic engagement and expanded economic ties. Pakistan also joined Trump’s Peace Council, which aims to secure peace in Gaza, despite opposition from Islamists at home.
Over the weekend, Trump spoke with Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, whom the US president publicly described as his “favorite field marshal.” Analysts say he is a player who has good relations with the Iranian and American militaries.
The conflict poses some of the “biggest economic and energy security challenges” in Pakistan’s history, said Syed Mohammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst.
The country gets most of its oil and gas from the Middle East and, he added, the five million Pakistanis working in the Arab world send home remittances each year roughly equal to the country’s total export earnings.
Growing tensions have already contributed to rising global oil prices, forcing Pakistan to raise fuel prices by around 20% and putting pressure on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government.
The war is also adding to domestic unrest, even as Pakistan has been grappling for months with its own conflict with neighboring Afghanistan. Islamabad has accused the Taliban government of tolerating militant groups behind attacks in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, protests erupted across the country following US strikes on Iran, with demonstrators clashing with security forces in several cities.
A day after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, clashes erupted in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi and parts of the north, leaving at least 22 dead and more than 120 injured across the country.
At least 12 people were killed in and around the US consulate in Karachi after a mob entered the compound and tried to set it on fire.
Khamenei was a central religious and political figure for Shiites around the world, including in Pakistan.
Although Pakistan rarely plays a mediating role, it has nevertheless played a role in some high-profile negotiations.
General Yahya Khan, then President of Pakistan, facilitated indirect contacts that led to US President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972. This paved the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing in 1979.
Since then, Pakistan has played a role in several other complex regional conflicts, including the 1988 Geneva Accords that paved the way for Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Acting as a frontline state and key interlocutor, Islamabad participated in the UN-brokered negotiations while working closely with the United States and other stakeholders and helped increase pressure on Moscow to withdraw its forces.
More recently, Pakistan facilitated contacts between the Afghan Taliban and Washington that led to negotiations in Doha that resulted in a deal in 2020 and paved the way for the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO troops and the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
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Castillo reported from Beijing.
