Pakistan seeks to mediate peace talks between US and Iran in Islamabad

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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is making a push to mediate talks to end the US-Israeli war against Iran, with its powerful army chief holding calls with US President Donald Trump to find a resolution to the fighting, people familiar with the matter said.

Field Marshal Asim Munir spoke with Mr Trump on March 23, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Pakistan is positioning Islamabad as a location for the talks, one of the people said.

It’s possible that Mr Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and US Vice-President J.D. Vance, could travel to Islamabad if an agreement was likely to be reached, said one senior Western diplomat.

The US had also considered locations such as Muscat, Doha and Cairo for peace talks, but fraying relations due to the war or mistrust from either Washington or Tehran toward those governments made those options less viable, the person added.

Mr Trump said on March 23 he would postpone strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure following “productive conversations” with the Islamic republic.

Iranian officials have so far denied any negotiations are taking place.

CBS News reported, citing a senior unnamed Iranian foreign ministry official, that Iranian officials were reviewing US messages sent through mediators.

Mr Tahir Andrabi, spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, did not respond to requests for comment.

“Pakistan mediating and hosting talks wouldn’t be that surprising,” said Mr Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.

“It’s one of the few countries with warm ties with both Washington and Tehran, and it has engaged closely and continuously with senior officials in both capitals over the last year.”

Pakistan is leveraging close ties fostered with Mr Trump, together with its longstanding bonds with neighbour Iran and other key players, such as Saudi Arabia.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on March 23, pledging solidarity with Iran and calling for de-escalation in the fighting. 

“While sharing with the Iranian President the diplomatic outreach efforts of Pakistan’s leadership, the Prime Minister assured the Iranian leadership that Pakistan would continue to play a constructive role in facilitating peace in the region,” Mr Sharif said in a post on X.

The Financial Times reported that Field Marshal Munir spoke with Mr Trump on March 22.

Axios had earlier reported that Islamabad was being considered as a likely location for talks. 

Analysts are cautious about the outlook for talks and whether it could lead to a ceasefire.

“If the two sides meet, and presumably that’s going be indirect talks, not direct talk at this point, that’s a positive development,” said Mr James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“But first of all, you’ve seen two rounds of negotiations in the last year that ended up in war. The Iranians are very distrustful. The gap of distrust is humongous between the United States and Iran. And that complicates discussions.”

Pakistan has stepped up its diplomatic engagement in the Gulf region as fighting escalated, triggering an energy crisis that’s causing major gas shortages in South Asia.

The Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, has been virtually shut since the fighting began.

Pakistan imports almost all of its crude oil, refined petroleum products and LNG from Gulf nations. 

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar attended a joint meeting with counterparts from Arab and Muslim countries in Riyadh last week to discuss the ongoing conflict.

Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia foreign ministers had a separate meeting as well. 

Pakistan tried hard to ensure that the joint statement didn’t contribute to an escalation in the rhetoric between Iran and its Gulf neighbours, a person familiar with the matter said, following the Islamic republic’s retaliatory air strikes against countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Witkoff is playing a key role in the current talks, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

His son Zachary, chief executive officer of World Liberty Financial Inc, visited Islamabad twice in the past year to hold talks with Pakistani officials regarding cryptocurrency trading.

In January, he signed a deal for the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial to explore launching stablecoins in Pakistan.

At a signing ceremony in Islamabad, he was pictured with Field Marshal Munir and Mr Sharif in the background.

Field Marshal Munir has also held talks several times with Saudi Arabia about the conflict.

He and Mr Sharif travelled to Jeddah on March 12 to mee Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, one day after Mr Sharif spoke with Iran’s President. Field Marshal Munir also met the Saudi defence minister earlier in March. 

Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a defence pact in September 2025, which states that any aggression against either country would be considered aggression against both. 

Pakistan is also engulfed in its own fighting with neighbouring Afghanistan, with cross-border attacks that have intensified in recent weeks but are currently paused. BLOOMBERG