US-Iran War — 2026-04-03

Pakistan Presses US-Iran Mediation Despite Obstacles, Hosts Quadrilateral Talks

Pakistan continues to press mediation efforts between the US and Iran despite acknowledged obstacles, with the Foreign Ministry focusing on securing meaningful negotiations. Islamabad hosted quadrilateral talks with Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia sending foreign ministers. A joint Pakistan-China five-point initiative calls for immediate ceasefire, diplomatic engagement, and restoration of Hormuz shipping. Iran has allowed 20 additional Pakistani ships to transit Hormuz. However, Tehran insists mediation is limited to message-passing and has not publicly agreed to direct talks.

Analysis
Pakistan's quadrilateral format with Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia represents the most structured diplomatic track currently active. The China-Pakistan five-point initiative first reported March 31 has now expanded into a multilateral framework. Iran's insistence that communication is limited to message-passing, not direct talks, mirrors its early posture in the 2015 JCPOA negotiations before back-channel contacts were formalized.
2 sources
  1. Pakistan to continue with Iran-US mediation despite obstacles - Al Jazeera
  2. Pakistan is playing intermediary in the Iran war, a role it has played before - NPR

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