As reports continue to consolidate Pakistan’s stance as a mediator for negotiations between the United States and Iran amid the month-old conflict, the country’s foreign ministry has fuelled the conversation further. A senior official told the AFP news agency that talks aimed at de-escalating the crisis in West Asia will be hosted over the course of two days.
The interactions between multiple West Asian nations will reportedly take place in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
Who is attending Iran war talks in Pakistan?
Pakistan is said to be hosting Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt for talks slated to commence on Sunday, as reported by Reuters and AFP.
A senior foreign ministry official also told AFP that the exact representation for the meeting has not been confirmed yet, but the delegations are expected to arrive in Pakistan by Sunday evening.
“We will host a quadrilateral meeting on Monday,” added the unnamed official.
The four countries in question have been trying to mediate between the US and Iran in the war the US and Israel launched on February 28. The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that delegations of all four nations even previously convened for a closed-door meeting in Riyadh.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held “extensive discussions” on regional hostilities. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Turkish counterpart by phone that Tehran was sceptical of the diplomatic efforts. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is also said to have eventually spoken to Araghchi and urged “an end to all attacks and hostilities.”
CNN had also cited senior regional officials claiming that Iran didn’t want to re-enter negotiations with Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Consequently, US Vice President JD Vance’s name emerged in the mix. Media reports further pushed that Pakistan wanted Vance as a potential chief negotiator from the US side.
US-Iran war: What will be discussed in Pakistan?
In a statement shared on Saturday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said that the four countries will engage in “in-depth discussion on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the regions” during the two-day talks.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said the meeting would seek to establish de-escalation. “We would discuss where the negotiations in this war are heading and how these four countries assess the situation and what can be done,” he told broadcaster A Haber late on Friday.
While at an Istanbul conference on Saturday, Fidan also said the world’s “polycentric system” required a solution to safeguard important energy and trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz. He asserted that his own country’s heavy-dialogue aims to establish “actionable steps” to end the Iran war before further destruction to global economy.
Despite the talks being held over the US-Israel war on Iran, there have been no mentions of officials from either side attending the supposed talks set to take place in Pakistan.
Islamabad has particularly positioned itself as a mediator owing to its longstanding ties with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have repeatedly shared headlines with US President Donald Trump this past year.
Just earlier this week, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the White House sent a 15-point plan to Tehran through Pakistan in a bid to end the war with Iran.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar also subsequently confirmed on social media that his country was playing the role of a mediator, claiming the 15-point plan was “being deliberated upon by Iran.”
On the official front, Tehran has denied talking with Washington. An official, as cited by Reuters, dismissed the 15-point proposal from the US as “one-sided and unfair,” as it demands getting rid of Iran’s nuclear program, curbing its missile development and handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz.