In the immediate wake of President Donald Trump’s announcement of a five-day moratorium on strikes against Iran, Pakistan emerged as a prominent mediator under the stewardship of Field Marshal Asim Munir, positioning itself between Washington and Tehran in an attempt to chart a path towards de-escalation, even as reports indicated that Israel had launched a fresh wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.
Islamabad sought to project itself as a credible interlocutor, with Field Marshal Munir reportedly engaging in high-level discussions with Trump, while Pakistan simultaneously proposed its own capital as a venue for urgent talks involving senior representatives from the American administration and the Iranian leadership. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif was also said to have held conversations with President Masoud Pezeshkian, reinforcing Islamabad’s effort to sustain a fragile diplomatic opening.
These manoeuvres unfolded alongside parallel initiatives by Turkey and Egypt, both of which were engaged in discreet back-channel diplomacy aimed at narrowing the widening gap between Washington and Tehran. The discussions reportedly involved key figures, including US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister, suggesting an emerging regional attempt to contain the escalation through coordinated outreach.
The diplomatic push coincided with Trump’s statement that he had ordered a temporary suspension of strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, citing what he described as productive exchanges with Tehran, although the White House declined to elaborate further, emphasising the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations.
Yet the military situation remained volatile, with Israel confirming that it had initiated another wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran, while asserting that operations would continue in line with government directives until instructed otherwise. Observers in the Iranian capital described the intensity of the explosions as unusually high, prompting Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to respond with fresh attacks on Israeli targets.
Israeli officials indicated that energy facilities might be spared for the time being, though they stressed that operational decisions remained subject to political leadership.
Tehran, meanwhile, denied engaging in direct negotiations with the US, but acknowledged receiving messages through friendly regional states conveying Washington’s interest in talks, adding that responses had been communicated in line with Iran’s established positions.