Pakistan Brokers Historic Two-Week Ceasefire Between United States, Iran, and Israel

The United States, Iran, and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8, 2026, brokered by Pakistan after weeks of back-channel diplomacy led by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief of Staff. Under the terms of the deal, both sides agreed to an immediate halt to hostilities, including in Lebanon where Israel had been conducting strikes, in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping. United States President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that American forces would suspend strikes on Iran for two weeks on condition of what he called a "COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE and SAFE OPENING" of the strait. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran's agreement, stating that Iran had consented to suspend what he described as "defensive operations" provided that attacks on Iran ceased, citing both the US request for talks based on Washington's 15-point proposal and Trump's acceptance of Iran's 10-point plan as a basis for negotiations. Formal talks between American and Iranian officials are scheduled to begin on Friday, April 10, 2026, in Islamabad.

Pakistan's army chief drove the back-channel push The ceasefire announcement came hours after Trump had threatened to destroy Iran's "whole civilisation" if Tehran did not meet his terms, and it followed weeks of discreet Pakistani mediation that the White House had actively encouraged, according to people familiar with the talks cited by the Financial Times. The back-channel effort was concentrated in a narrow group on the Pakistani side, with Field Marshal Asim Munir making a series of calls to senior US officials including Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and special envoy Steve Witkoff in the final hours before the deadline. Pakistan passed a US-drafted 15-point proposal to Tehran, then relayed Iran's 5-point and 10-point responses back to Washington, while also pitching Islamabad as a venue for a peace summit. Trump has publicly referred to Munir as his "favorite marshal" who knows Iran "better than most," according to the BBC. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made the two-week proposal public on social media after Munir spoke directly with Araghchi, though Sharif's post drew attention after it was published with a visible draft subject line reading "draft -- Pakistan's PM message on X," raising questions about the announcement's handling. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian subsequently confirmed Iran's participation in the upcoming Islamabad talks, according to a statement from Sharif's office.

Pakistan and Iran share a 900-kilometer border and have maintained ties since Tehran became the first country to recognize Pakistan after its independence in 1947. Islamabad returned the gesture by recognizing the Islamic Republic following Iran's 1979 revolution. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest Shia Muslim communities, estimated at roughly 40 million people. Pakistani diplomacy has historically represented Iranian interests in Washington in the absence of an Iranian embassy. The Sultanate of Oman had previously served as the primary intermediary channel between Washington and Tehran in earlier rounds of diplomacy.

Deep gaps remain despite ceasefire — uranium enrichment unresolved Despite the agreement to pause hostilities, the two sides remain far apart on the substance of any long-term deal. Iran's 10-point proposal includes a demand to retain uranium enrichment capabilities, a position Washington had previously ruled out entirely. The 10-point plan also makes no mention of Iran's ballistic missile program, which both Israel and the United States have insisted must be drastically curtailed. Washington's 15-point plan, by contrast, called for the removal of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a halt to enrichment, restrictions on the ballistic missile program, and a severing of financial support to regional proxy forces, according to Israeli sources cited by Reuters. A Pakistani official in the region told Reuters that Iran could expect to secure concessions on reconstruction, reparations, and sanctions relief, but should not expect to lock in a uranium enrichment agreement. Two regional diplomats told the Financial Times that Iran had, over the course of the negotiations, become more open to accepting some limits on its uranium stockpile, suggesting limited but real movement on the issue. Trump described the 10-point Iranian proposal as a "workable basis" for negotiations without specifying which points he accepted, and stated that major disputes from the past had been resolved — a characterization that contrasted with the detailed gaps outlined by other officials.

Negotiating positions entering Islamabad talks: Uranium enrichment (before: US 15-point plan: halt enrichment, remove stockpile, after: Iran 10-point plan: retain enrichment rights); Ballistic missiles (before: US/Israel demand: drastic curtailment, after: Iran 10-point plan: not addressed); Regional proxies (before: US demand: cut financing to regional allies, after: Iran 10-point plan: not addressed); Sanctions (before: US plan: conditioned on nuclear concessions, after: Iran demands: lifting of economic sanctions)

Ceasefire violations reported within hours of announcement The ceasefire showed signs of fragility almost immediately after it was announced. Shehbaz Sharif posted on X that violations "have been reported in a few places in the conflict zone" and urged all parties to exercise restraint, warning that such incidents compromise "the spirit of the peace process." „I strongly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the two-week ceasefire, as agreed, so that diplomacy can play a leading role toward a peaceful settlement of the conflict” — Shehbaz Sharif via BFMTV Araghchi separately cited ceasefire violations by Israel in Lebanon during a call with Munir, according to reporting by BFMTV. Munir and Araghchi, in that call, stressed the need to implement the points of agreement in order to "strengthen peace and security in the region." The ceasefire had already been preceded by significant turbulence: on Tuesday, April 7, an Iranian drone struck the Saudi petrochemical hub of Jubail, which one Pakistani official described to the Financial Times as a "last" disruptive act by elements within Iran opposed to the deal. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was described as internally divided, with some factions strongly opposed to ending hostilities, loosening control of the Strait of Hormuz, or returning to talks with the United States. Pakistan's particular leverage in the negotiations stemmed from its mutual defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, its status as a nuclear-armed Muslim-majority state, and its rare position of maintaining functional diplomatic relations with both Washington and Tehran simultaneously.