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Pakistan Offers to Host U.S.-Iran Indirect Talks as Trump Halts Strikes Temporarily

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Washington and Tehran edged toward possible indirect talks as Iran acknowledged receiving U.S. messages via intermediaries and Pakistan formally offered to host negotiations in Islamabad, prompting President Donald Trump to pause planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days english +1. The tentative diplomatic opening came while the U.S.-Israeli air campaign and Iranian missile and drone attacks continued across the region, keeping the risk of wider war high jpost.

Iran publicly denied holding any direct talks with the United States after Trump said on Monday that “very good and productive conversations” had taken place and predicted “a very good chance we’re going to end up in a deal” tribune +1. Tehran’s foreign ministry, however, confirmed it had “received points from the U.S. through mediators” and was reviewing them, even as parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed claims of negotiations as “fake news” aimed at manipulating oil and financial markets tribune +1.

Pakistan Steps Forward as Lead Mediator

Pakistan moved quickly to present itself as a central go‑between, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declaring Islamabad “ready and honoured” to host “meaningful and conclusive” talks between Washington and Tehran to end the war cbsnews. The country’s powerful military chief, Gen. Asim Munir, has held direct calls with Trump about the crisis, leveraging longstanding ties with Iran and a personal rapport with the U.S. president to open back‑channel lines, according to multiple diplomatic accounts english +1.

Islamabad’s foreign ministry said Pakistan was prepared to host negotiations “at any time,” while officials in Turkey and Egypt confirmed their own involvement in parallel back‑channel efforts to bridge gaps between the two adversaries cbsnews +1. Analysts noted that Pakistan’s role builds on its ambition to be a regional mediator, and on its interest in protecting trade routes and energy flows now threatened by fighting around the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one‑fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passes english +1.

Hardening Red Lines in Tehran and Allied Skepticism

Behind the public denials, senior Iranian officials signaled a tougher stance. Sources in Tehran said any talks would likely be led on Iran’s side by Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, but that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was exerting growing influence over strategy and would demand firm guarantees against future U.S. and Israeli attacks, compensation for wartime losses, and control or at least security assurances over the Strait of Hormuz english. Iran would also refuse to entertain limits on its ballistic missile program, a position that clashes directly with long‑standing U.S. demands english +1.

Israeli officials expressed doubt that Tehran would accept conditions that curtailed its nuclear or missile capabilities and continued military operations even as diplomatic channels opened english +1. Regional Gulf states, including the UAE and Qatar, pressed Washington privately to seek an “off‑ramp” and to keep any military campaign short to avoid deeper economic damage from energy market disruption, contributing to the push for mediation iranintl. Financial markets reacted sharply to Trump’s announcement of a five‑day strike pause and prospects of talks, with Brent crude slipping about 10% and U.S. stocks rising as investors priced in a marginally lower risk of escalation tribune +1.

The Bigger Picture

The emerging Pakistan‑led mediation underscores how deeply the U.S.–Israel–Iran war has unsettled regional actors whose economies depend on stable sea lanes and energy exports, but it also highlights the diplomatic gulf between Washington’s and Tehran’s war aims. With Iran insisting on expansive guarantees and refusing missile concessions, and the U.S. tying its five‑day pause to “success” in still‑uncertain contacts, any talks in Islamabad—if they materialize—are likely to test whether this opening becomes an off‑ramp from conflict or merely a brief pause before the next round of escalation english +2.