Pakistan steps up as go-between in Trump's Iran crisis

Pakistan is positioning itself as the lead mediator trying to broker an end to the US's and Israel's war against Iran, using its military strongman's ties to Tehran and warm relationship with Donald Trump. Army chief Asim Munir spoke with Trump on Sunday, according to two people briefed on the call, while Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday. The conversation between the Pakistani and Iranian leaders came at around the same time as Trump announced that he was delaying his threat to "obliterate" Iran's power plants after "very good and productive" conversations with Tehran to end the war. It was not clear if Pakistan's mediation push and Trump's post on his Truth Social social media platform, which caused oil prices to fall sharply, were related. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump negotiations. "These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the news media," the White House said. Turkey, which was involved in mediation efforts before the war, has also been talking to Iranian officials and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. Pakistan's foreign minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar held talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday. Egypt's foreign minister Badr Abdelatty also spoke to his Iranian and Pakistani counterparts on Sunday, as well as Witkoff and Qatar's foreign minister. Iranian state-affiliated media denied that there were talks with the US. "There have been no negotiations," an unnamed senior security official told the Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, which is spearheading Iran's military response. Analysts and diplomats cautioned against the prospect of the success of any mediations as the war stretches into its fourth week. People briefed on the matter said the diplomatic efforts involved very early-stage messaging, rather than a formal process. Sanam Vakil at the Chatham House think-tank, said several countries were "scrambling" to de-escalate the conflict but added: "I don't take this as any signal the war is coming to an end." She added that it could be Trump walking back his threat because of pressure from Gulf states. Iran vowed to respond to any attack on its power plants by targeting vital infrastructure across the region, including energy facilities and water desalination plants. Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday evening that the US would strike Iran's power plants, "starting with the biggest one", if Tehran did not allow vessels to transit through the waterway, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas normally passes. On Monday, he said he would suspend that threat by five days. "It's positive to play out what a compromise and agreement might look like, but I don't see a willingness on either side to compromise," Vakil said. "I don't think Trump can walk away from this crisis of his making." "And I just don't see Iran caving," she added. "They feel they have the upper hand and the leverage -- this is again about their survival and the conditions that will assure their survival." Mediation between the US and Iran has typically been facilitated by Oman and Qatar. But regional officials said there had been no momentum behind diplomatic efforts since the US and Israel launched the war two days after a round of talks between the Trump administration and Iranian officials in Geneva. 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. "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," Pakistan said in a readout of their conversation on Monday. Dar told Arab counterparts at a meeting in Riyadh last week that Islamabad was mediating between the US and Iran, but did not provide details, a diplomat said. The diplomat said Pakistan was leading mediation efforts. Pakistan, which does not host any American bases, is one of the few US allies in the neighbourhood that has been spared Tehran's missiles and drones. That fact has helped shore it up as a neutral arbiter to Iran and the US, according to three people familiar with the matter. Pakistan has pitched Islamabad as venue for a summit between senior Trump administration officials and Iranian officials as part of its diplomatic push, people familiar with the matter said. Pakistan has the second-largest Shia Muslim population after Iran, while having close relations with Gulf states, including a mutual defence pact signed last year with Saudi Arabia. It is also vulnerable to the repercussions of conflict as it depends on the Gulf for oil and gas imports. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei namechecked Pakistan in a written message published in Iranian media to mark the start of the Iranian new year last week, saying he had a special feeling towards the people of Pakistan. Additional reporting from Raya Jalabi in Beirut