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The Guardian World1 min read
Pakistan acting as backchannel as US and Iran inch towards deal, experts say
TL;DR
Pakistan is facilitating backchannel negotiations between the US and Iran to advance a peace agreement. The ongoing ceasefire is seen as a significant achievement amid rising global economic concerns.
Key points
- Pakistan is facilitating US-Iran negotiations.
- The ongoing ceasefire is a significant achievement.
- Pakistan's energy import bill has tripled due to the war.
- Both countries have hardened their negotiation stances recently.
Mentioned in this story
PakistanIranUnited StatesShehbaz Sharif
Pakistan is passing proposals between Iran and the US to keep talks alive behind the scenes and inch towards a peace agreement, officials and experts say.
Pakistani officials say that they are conscious of the fact that at stake is not only regional peace, but the health of the global economy and the livelihoods of millions of the poorest people in the world – including in Pakistan, whose monthly energy import bill has almost tripled as a result of the war.
Islamabad views the continuation of the ceasefire, in place for more than three weeks, as a major achievement. Tehran and Washington have said Pakistan remains the primary conduit for negotiation, and Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Wednesday he had been promised a revised offer from Iran to pass on.
Pakistan’s role switched in recent days to a lower-profile but urgent task of running a backchannel, after momentum behind direct talks stalled. Islamabad believes the peace process can still make progress without a face-to-face meeting.
Both Iran and the US hardened their positions after the breakthrough of getting them into the same room in Islamabad for an all-night negotiation session in April, the highest-level engagement between the two sides since the 1979 revolution.
According to Tehran, those talks got close to a deal but the US abruptly walked out. Washington said Iran was not prepared to go far enough. An attempt to engineer a second round in Islamabad last weekend fell apart after the Iranian side refused to meet the US team, which was ready to fly in.
US officials briefed this week that Washington was considering returning to war. Some voices in Iran have expressed frustration that Pakistan has not been able to hold the US to commitments given in the negotiations.
Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, said Pakistan was not only transmitting messages between the two sides. He said Islamabad’s intervention had led to an initial two-week ceasefire, and the US-Iran meeting with Pakistani officials as referees. Islamabad persuaded Trump to extend the ceasefire, he said, which now has no stated deadline.
The next task was to convince both sides to simultaneously lift their blockades on the strait of Hormuz, he said. But Trump this week said the blockade was more effective than bombing, while Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, hailed a “new chapter” for the strait – suggesting neither side was about to back down.
Q&A
What role is Pakistan playing in US-Iran negotiations?
Pakistan is acting as a backchannel, passing proposals between the US and Iran to keep talks alive and work towards a peace agreement.
Why is the US-Iran deal important for Pakistan?
The deal is crucial for Pakistan as it impacts regional peace and the global economy, which directly affects the livelihoods of millions, including those in Pakistan.
What recent developments have occurred in US-Iran talks?
Recent developments include a ceasefire lasting over three weeks and Pakistan's prime minister receiving a revised offer from Iran to facilitate negotiations.
How has the US and Iran's negotiation stance changed recently?
Both the US and Iran have hardened their positions following a significant negotiation session in Islamabad, which was the highest-level engagement since 1979.
