Middle East Conflict: Could Pakistan Emerge As Trump's Pick For Negotiations With Iran? US President Drops A Hint

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) gave clear indications that US-Iran talks to end the three-week-long war could take place in Pakistan. This comes after he shared a screenshot of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's invitation on Truth Social.

The development comes hours after Sharif, in a post on X, wrote, "Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in the region and beyond. Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to host and facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict."

Following his tweet, Trump posted the screenshot, marking a significant shift from his earlier narrative that the US had "already won" the war with Iran.

US Vice President to attend talks in Pakistan?

According to an Axios report, US Vice President JD Vance is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad, along with Trump's main negotiators, his friend Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner,who may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week.

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While there is no clarity on who may attend the talks from Iran's side if the meeting does take place, Iran's Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is widely speculated to be Tehran's likely representative, though his public posture remains defiant. On Monday, Trump, while addressing reports about Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's health, commented that, according to him, Ghalibaf is the person to

focus on regarding the US-Iran talks, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Pakistan to act as mediator in US-Iran talks?

On Tuesday, a Financial Times report, citing sources, said that Islamabad is leveraging Asim Munir's ties to Tehran and its warm relationship with Trump. Despite maintaining a cautious stance so far regarding the three-week-long war, Islamabad has now offered itself as a possible venue for talks between officials from the Trump administration and Iran. The summit is likely to be held this week.

The report suggested that Asim Munir, Pakistan's military strongman, spoke with Trump on 22 March, while Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday. The call between Sharif and Pezeshkian coincided with Trump's announcement of pausing the fighting, nearly two days after he threatened to "obliterate" the Islamic Republic's power plants if it failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

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Apart from Pakistan, other countries are actively mediating in the region to ensure stability and peace. These include Turkiye, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Earlier today, Qatar, the traditional mediator, noted that "it supports all diplomatic efforts" to end the war.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet his G7 counterparts in France, marking his first foreign trip since the war began. The G7 meeting will include discussions on the ongoing tensions and the war in Iran.

Earlier today, Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke by phone. In a post on X, PM Modi mentioned the call with Trump, adding that they had a useful exchange on the conflict in West Asia. Reiterating India's stance, PM Modi said, "India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure, and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability.”

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