Murmurs in Iran over ‘neutral’ Pak

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Talks stalled, Islamabad in race to bridge the Washington-Tehran gap

Tehran and Washington continue to struggle in finding common ground to end the war in West Asia. Amid these efforts, Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei has raised concerns about Pakistan's neutrality in the negotiation. Rezaei, who serves as the spokesperson for the National Security and For­e­ign Policy Commission, des­cribed Islamabad as a “good friend” of Tehran but argued it lacks the necessary credibility to serve as a mediator.

On X, Rezaei alleged Pakistan was partial and intended to favour America's interests. He claimed Islamabad consistently took Trump's interests into account and avoided criticising the US, even when commitments about Lebanon or blocked assets were not fulfilled. 

“They are unwilling to tell the world America first accepted Pakistan's proposal but then went back on its word,” Rezaei said, emphasising a mediator must remain impartial rather than leaning towards one side.

Furthermore, work has not halted to bridge gaps between the US and Iran, sources from mediator Pakistan said, despite the failure of face-to-face diplomacy after Donald Trump called off a trip by his envoys and said Iran should phone when it wants a deal.

US President Donald Trump has said Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war.

“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump told 'The Sunday Briefing' on Fox News.

“They know what has to be in the agreement. It's very simple: They cannot have a nuclear weapon; otherwise, there's no reason to meet,” Trump said.

—Agencies