As the conflict in the Middle East intensifies, a media report on Friday suggested that mediation efforts by regional countries, including Pakistan, have reached a dead end.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Iran has officially informed mediators that it is unwilling to meet US officials in Islamabad and considers US demands unacceptable.
Pakistan had attempted to play a pivotal role in facilitating dialogue to end the war, which broke out on February 28 after US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran led to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Although Iran had previously claimed that it was not part of Pakistan-facilitated negotiations, media reports indicated that Islamabad had been acting as an intermediary, relaying messages between Washington and Tehran.
However, the WSJ report claimed that the initiative has come to a standstill. The Dawn newspaper also published a similar report, stating that despite backchannel exchanges, Iran has yet to formally respond to proposals for dialogue.
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The Pakistani newspaper quoted a senior official as saying, "It is surprising that despite the extensive damage to Iran's military and civilian infrastructure, Tehran has not responded positively to calls for negotiations."
The official added that, despite Tehran’s muted response, Pakistani leaders have continued their efforts to engage with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in hopes of persuading them to accept the U.S. offer for talks.
On Saturday, Pakistan government rejected these media reports as “baseless” and a “figment of imagination”.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi stated, “We have noted several reports in the media, including on social media, citing so-called official government sources regarding the ongoing conflict in the region and Pakistan's efforts to promote peace and dialogue. We categorically reject these false insinuations attributed to purported official sources as baseless and a figment of imagination. Any attribution to official sources in this regard is incorrect.”
Andrabi urged media outlets to refrain from speculation and to rely on official statements for accurate information.
Meanwhile, following the downing of two advanced US aircraft by Iran on Friday, the future of the negotiation efforts remains uncertain. US President Donald Trump, when asked whether the incident would affect diplomatic talks, downplayed its impact, saying, “No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war.”