Name: Pakistan positions itself as a key mediator between the US and Iran | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-03-27T17:06:30.000Z
Duration: 5 min 34 s
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Reflexive pronouns

Amid the increasing international pressure to end this conflict, Pakistan is positioning itself as a key mediator between the US and Iran.

Participle clauses

Pakistan's foreign ministry said it's acting as an intermediary, relaying messages between the warring nations.

Adverbs of manner

Islamabad says it's actively working to bring the US and Iran to the negotiating table, but

hasn't confirmed whether direct talks would take place.

Now, Turkey and Egypt are also said to be involved in mediation efforts.

Iran's officially denied being engaged in talks with the US on an end to this war, as repeatedly claimed by Donald Trump.

But Tehran is rejecting, uh, the US 15-point plan and making its own plan.

So messages are going backwards and forwards.

Let's then turn our attention to the relationship between Islamabad and Tehran.

Pakistan, uh, shares a lot of historical, cultural, religious ties with Iran, uh, with Iran.

Iran was the first country that recognized Pakistan after independence its independence in 1947.

Pakistan also, uh, uh, um, uh, did the same after, after the 1979 revolution.

But when it comes to Pakistan's relations with Tehran, or why Pakistan is so actively involved, uh, or wants, uh, this war to end, or wants mediation or, uh, conflict to end, there are many other reasons.

Uh, Pakistan for example, 20% of Pakistan's population is of Shia faith.

Most of them have very good feelings towards Iran.

when Ayatollah Khamenei was killed by Iranian and by Israel and US attacks, there were protests in Pakistan.

There was a lot of anger in Pakistan, so much so that in police clashes, 26 almost protesters were killed.

Uh, so there's in Pakistan, among public, there is a lot of, uh, goodwill or good sentiments towards Iran.

Pakistan shares a 900-kilometer-long border with Iran.

And that's a very restive province that Pakistan has, a province of Balochistan.

It's a hotbed of insurgency, militant activities, separatist groups.

Because if there is conflict, if there is instability in Iran, then Pakistan fears that militants can be emboldened and it can have trouble on its border.

So a lot for Pakistan is at stake when it comes to its relations with Iran.

So, uh, stable I-Iran is in Pa is in Pakistan's interest.

Why, though, is Washington, uh, trusting Islamabad?

Because it wasn't that long ago, it was criticizing them for harboring the Taliban.

And there was all sorts of, uh, bad blood between the two capitals.

Uh, but things changed when Donald Trump came to power.

And when Pakistan's military chief, Field Marshal Asim Manir, started developing really good relations with the with the US president.

Uh, Donald Trump calls Pakistan's army chief his favorite, uh, field marshal.

I think a lot of it changed when Pakistan had a four-day intense conflict with India last year.

Pakistan was very quick to endorse Donald Trump's position that it was the US, it was the Do it was Donald Trump that stopped the war between two nuclear powers.

And not only Pakistan publicly endorsed Donald Trump's position, Pakistan nominated the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize.

So Pakistan has been Pakistan has been actively working, um, aggressively, I would say, working to get into the good books of US, to get into the good books of US President Donald Trump, also offering several business potential business interests, uh, in the country, in Pakistan.

Nothing in that region i-is ever straightforward.

But Pakistan also has a defense pact with Saudi Arabia, a country that Iran is now attacking.

And that is, again, a very big reason because of which Pakistan would want this conflict to immediately end.

So this defense pact means that Pakistan has to protect United States uh, has to protect Saudi Arabia if it's attacked.

And so Pakistan has been aggressively, diplomatically working with the Iranian leadership, with the Saudi leadership, to make sure that the temperature, uh, i-is lowered, that Pakistan is not put in, in a position where it has to militarily help the United States uh, uh, militarily help the Saudi Arabia.

Because if Pakistan does that, then Pakistan becomes a party to the conflict.

And, uh, let, let me explain to our viewers.

If Pakistan becomes a party to the conflict, Iran can start attacking Pakistan.

It has been attacking, uh, US bases and, and, and allies of the US.

But Pakistan has millions of Pakistani citizens that work in Gulf countries.

And so thousands of Pakistani families are dependent on those people who work in these Gulf countries for money, for remittances.

Also, most of Pakistanis work in Saudi Arabia.

So it's such a delicate balance that Pakistan has that it does not want to antagonize United uh, sorry, Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Thank you for t-talking us through those, that, that, that complicated knot in that in a complicated region.

Uh, DW reporter, uh, Binish Javed, thank you.