Pakistani Minister Arrives in Tehran to Press Struggling US-Iran Peace Process
A Pakistani minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday to press the struggling US-Iran peace process. Pakistan has played the principal mediator role between Washington and Tehran since the early phase of the war, hosting talks in Islamabad and channelling messages between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys. The Pakistani intervention follows Iran’s chief negotiator’s “not to be trusted” framing of the United States and the Tasnim “suspended indirect talks” announcement Monday. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed; US-Iran strikes exchanges continued through the weekend.
Pakistan’s mediator role has been the structural Iranian channel into Washington since the early-summer phase of the war began. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi previously delivered the US framework message to Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi in Tehran. The framework as originally drafted would extend the ceasefire by 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz with no tolls, lift the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, allow Iran to sell oil freely under sanctions waivers, and start new nuclear-programme talks. The two Trump edit areas — enriched-uranium disposal pathway and Hormuz governance — are the most structurally binding parts of the framework. The Pakistani Saturday intervention is the most significant external diplomatic push since the framework collapse began.