Pakistan ‘Ready To Host US-Iran Talks’

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said Pakistan is ready to host talks between the United States and Iran amid US President Donald Trump’s claims of ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

“If the parties desire, Islamabad is always willing to host talks,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. “It has consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region.”

Hours later, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also wrote on X that Pakistan “stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict”.

Iran has categorically denied that it is engaged in any talks with the US, contradicting Trump. But multiple US and Israeli media outlets have reported that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye have been serving as messengers between Washington and Tehran, hoping to broker an off-ramp in a war that has led to the greatest energy crisis in modern history.

Some of those reports have suggested that Islamabad could emerge as the city to host talks later this week. According to US-based outlet Axios, two possible formats are under discussion for a meeting in Islamabad.

One involves Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Another envisions US Vice President JD Vance meeting Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has dismissed Trump’s claims of talks as an attempt to “escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped”.

Trump claimed the US and Iran had already reached “major points of agreement”, suggesting tentative steps towards de-escalation in the US-Israel war on Iran.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that messages had arrived through “friendly countries”, conveying a US request for negotiations, but said Iran had responded according to “the country’s principled positions”.

An Iranian official, quoted by state-linked Press TV, outlined Tehran’s conditions for ending the war on Monday. These included guarantees against future military action, closure of all US military bases in the Gulf region, full reparations from Washington and Tel Aviv, an end to regional conflicts involving Iran-aligned groups, and a new legal framework governing the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House has declined to spell out details of the talks that Trump claims were held. “These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Meanwhile Iran had told the Chinese government it is committed to comprehensive ceasefire – not temporary one.

Chinese state media carried a report of a telephone conversation between Iran’s Foreign Minister Abaas Aragchi and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

In translated text from Chinese state media, Aragchi reportedly told Yi: “Iran is committed to a comprehensive ceasefire, not just a temporary one”.

He also explained that “Hormuz is open to all, and ships can pass safely, but countries currently at war are not being considered”.

The state media-provided readout of the conversation said Yi stressed: “Talking is always better than fighting” and urged for all parties to “seize every opportunity and window of opportunity for peace and initiate the peace process as soon as possible”.

Meanwhile India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he has had a phone call with US President Donald Trump, in which the pair “had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia”.

Modi said he and Trump agreed to keep in touch “regarding efforts towards peace and stability”, and stresses that ensuring the Strait of Hormuz “remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world”.