Pakistan Announces Imminent US-Iran Peace Talks Amid Escalating Regional Conflict

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Sunday that Pakistan will host direct or indirect talks between the United States and Iran in the "coming days," positioning Islamabad as a neutral mediator in the war that began on February 28, 2026, when US and Israeli airstrikes struck Iran. Dar made the announcement in a televised address following a two-day regional foreign ministers' meeting in Islamabad attended by his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt. Pakistan expressed satisfaction that both Washington and Tehran had expressed confidence in its mediating role, though neither the US nor Iran issued any official confirmation of the talks. China also voiced full support for Pakistan's initiative, according to statements from Islamabad. The format of the proposed talks — whether direct or indirect — remained unspecified as of Sunday evening.

The US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, designated Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026, with coordinated airstrikes. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Supreme Leader on March 9, 2026. Tehran responded to the strikes with missile and drone attacks on Israel and several Gulf states, as well as on US facilities in the Gulf region. Pakistan shares an approximately 900-kilometer border with Iran and concluded a defense pact with Saudi Arabia in 2025.

The Islamabad meeting brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Egypt, Badr Abdelatty, Turkey, Hakan Fidan, and Pakistan's Ishaq Dar to discuss de-escalation options. Before the four-way session, Dar held separate bilateral meetings with each counterpart. Egypt's Badr Abdelatty and Turkey's Hakan Fidan also met separately with Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, underscoring the military dimension of Islamabad's mediation posture. Representatives of the United States or Israel were not present at the meeting, according to Pakistani ministry circles. Dar said his counterparts expressed support for Pakistan's peace efforts, and the meeting was set to continue on Monday. Pakistani defense analyst Asif Durrani described the regional participation as evidence of credible backing for Islamabad's mediation role, according to the AP news agency.

„Pakistan will consider it an honor to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict.” — Ishaq Dar via ORF

Hormuz blockade and a Suez-style fee model on the table A central issue in the mediation effort is Iran's de facto near-complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has had serious consequences for the global economy, according to ARD correspondent Katharina Willinger. Mediators have reportedly worked out a fee model for passage through the strait modeled on the Suez Canal system, though it remains unclear whether the aim of the talks is a full ceasefire or an interim arrangement focused on restoring shipping. Pakistan's government has a self-described interest in ending the conflict: the country shares a long border with Iran and fears the spread of the fighting, while its 2025 defense pact with Saudi Arabia — a country that has itself been targeted by Iranian missile attacks — creates additional pressure. Islamabad has described itself as exempt from its pact obligations in its capacity as a neutral mediator, according to Islamic scholar Simon Fuchs, as reported by Der Spiegel. Tehran's decision to allow 20 ships sailing under the Pakistani flag to use the strait was cited as a sign of goodwill toward Islamabad's mediation role.

Ten killed near Tehran as Houthis fire rockets at Israel On the battlefield, the conflict continued to intensify on Saturday. The Iranian news agency Fars reported that rockets struck a residential area south of Tehran, killing people, while the Israeli military confirmed strikes on the Iranian capital and other parts of the country, saying the targets included production facilities for rockets and drones. The US-based human rights network HRANA described the recent attacks on Iran as the most intense since the war began, according to the watson.ch report. Iran continued its own missile strikes on Israel, with attacks directed at the desert city of Dimona — near Israel's nuclear reactor — as well as rocket alarms in the greater Tel Aviv area and Jerusalem. Projectiles from Lebanon were also fired into northern Israel. The Houthi militia in Yemen entered the conflict on Saturday, attacking Israel twice in quick succession with a total of three rockets and one drone, according to article sources. Analysts cited by the Frankfurter Allgemeine described the Houthi strikes as largely symbolic, with Yemeni expert Farea al-Muslimi of the Chatham House think tank saying the group was "trying to intervene in the war without really intervening."

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