There is speculation that the United States and Iran could launch high-level end-of-war talks in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, to end a monthlong armed clash. Pakistan, which borders Iran and has no U.S. military base, has stepped in as an active mediator between the two countries, leading to this outcome.
On the 23rd (local time), according to a compilation of major media reports including Fox News and the Financial Times (FT), the Pakistani government on this day proposed to the two countries to hold end-of-war talks in Islamabad within this week with senior officials from the Donald Trump U.S. administration and Iran participating.
Asim Munir, Pakistan's powerful army chief, held a direct phone currency with President Trump on the 22nd. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held talks with Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian on the 23rd and is coordinating the two sides' positions. In the United States, Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy and a close aide to President Trump, and Jared Kushner, former White House senior adviser, are said to be engaging behind the scenes with senior Pakistani officials to exchange views.
Pakistan does not host U.S. military bases on its territory, putting it outside the target set of Iranian missile and drone attacks. It also has the world's second-largest Shia Muslim population after Iran, creating deep religious bonds. At the same time, it maintains a relatively friendly relationship with the United States. It also has mutual defense treaties with Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, earning it a reputation as the optimal objective mediator.
A nuclear-armed country, Pakistan currently relies on the Strait of Hormuz for most of its essential crude oil and liquefied natural gas imports needed to run the country. If the war's aftermath shakes the oil supply chain, it cannot avoid a severe economic crisis. In addition, given ongoing armed clashes along both borders with Afghan terrorist groups and India, Pakistan's security environment would spiral into the worst-case scenario if neighboring Iran were to collapse.
However, despite Pakistan's active mediation, experts said it is uncertain whether the two countries will actually come to the negotiating table. Sanam Vakil, a researcher at Chatham House, said, "Neither side shows a willingness to compromise," and analyzed, "I do not think Iran, whose survival is at stake, will easily give in."