Pakistan hosts top Saudi, Turkish, Egyptian diplomats over war in Iran

Talks are nether mode successful Islamabad, arsenic the Pakistani authorities acts arsenic mediator betwixt the US and Iran.

Top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye person gathered successful Islamabad for two-day talks with their Pakistani counterpart connected the US-Israel warfare connected Iran, seeking to de-escalate the conflict.

The talks connected Sunday and Monday are being led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who announced precocious connected Saturday that Iran had allowed “20 much ships” nether the Pakistani flag, oregon 2 ships daily, to walk done the Strait of Hormuz.

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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif besides said connected Saturday that helium had a “detailed telephone speech with my member President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran earlier today, lasting implicit 1 hour”, arsenic portion of preparations for the Islamabad talks.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Kyder, reporting from Islamabad, said Pakistan has been acting arsenic “a cardinal interlocutor” betwixt the United States and Iran, passing messages betwixt the 2 sides arsenic portion of the mediation efforts.

“The gathering successful Islamabad, what galore radical say, is the opening of a captious process that includes the lone viable option: diplomacy and dialogue,” helium said.

“A hard process, fixed the escalation, truthful each eyes volition beryllium connected Islamabad – what statement tin beryllium reached here, and whether that volition beryllium acceptable to the US, whether it is looking for a mode retired of this warfare oregon whether it is trying to bargain time,” helium added.

Pezeshkian hailed Islamabad’s efforts and “thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts to halt the aggression against the Islamic republic”, according to his office.

The brace person spoken antecedently successful caller weeks astir the struggle and Pakistan’s committedness to bringing it to an end.

Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and adjacent contacts successful the Gulf, portion Sharif and the service chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, person struck up a idiosyncratic rapport with US President Donald Trump.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier connected Friday helium expected a nonstop US-Iran gathering successful Pakistan “very soon”, without revealing his source.

The hazard of an expanded Iran warfare grew connected Saturday arsenic Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels launched their archetypal attacks connected Israel since the commencement of the conflict, aft the archetypal of the 2 contingents of the thousands of further US forces dispatched to the Middle East arrived connected Friday connected an amphibious battle ship.