US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) clearly indicated that US-Iranian talks to end the three-week war could be held in Pakistan. This happened after he shared a picture of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation on Truth Social.
The development comes hours after Sharif wrote in a post on X: “Pakistan welcomes and fully supports the ongoing efforts to continue the dialogue to end the war in the Middle East for the sake of peace and stability in the region and beyond. Subject to the agreement of the US and Iran, Pakistan is ready and honored to host and facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.”
Following his tweet, Trump posted a screenshot, marking a significant shift from his earlier narrative that the US had “already won” the war with Iran.
Will US Vice President attend talks in Pakistan?
According to the Axios report, US Vice President JD Vance is likely to attend the meeting in Islamabad, along with Trump’s top negotiators, his friend Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who may meet with the Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as early as this week.
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While it is unclear who from Iran may attend the talks, should the meeting actually take place, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is widely speculated to be the likely representative of Tehran, although his public stance remains defiant. On Monday, Trump, addressing reports on Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s health, noted that he believed Ghalibaf was the person who
focus on US-Iran talks, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Will Pakistan act as a mediator in US-Iran talks?
On Tuesday, a Financial Times report, citing sources, said Islamabad was taking advantage of Asim Munir’s ties to Tehran and his warm relationship with Trump. Despite a cautious stance on the three-week war so far, Islamabad has now offered itself as a possible venue for talks between Trump administration officials and Iran. The summit is likely to take place this week.
The report indicated that Asim Munir, a Pakistani military strongman, spoke to Trump on March 22, while Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday. The call between Sharif and Pezeshkian coincided with Trump’s announcement of a cessation of hostilities, nearly two days after he threatened to “wipe out” the Islamic Republic’s power plants if it failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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Global mediation efforts continue to restore peace in the Middle East
Apart from Pakistan, other countries are actively involved in ensuring stability and peace in the region. These include Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Qatar, a traditional mediator, noted earlier today that it “supports all diplomatic efforts” to end the war.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet his G7 counterparts in France, his first foreign trip since the war began. The G7 meeting will include discussions on the ongoing tensions and war in Iran.
Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke by phone earlier today. In a post on X, PM Modi referred to the call with Trump, adding that they had a useful exchange of information on the conflict in West Asia. Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s position, saying, “India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace as soon as possible. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is critical to the entire world. We have agreed to stay in touch on peace and stability efforts.”
