Amid ongoing efforts to land a deal between the United States and Iran, an Iranian MP on Sunday cast serious doubts on Pakistan’s ability to act as a mediator, claiming Islamabad “always takes US President Donald Trump’s interests into account and does not speak against the Americans’ wishes.“In a post on“Pakistan is a good friend and neighbor of ours, but it is not a suitable mediator for negotiations and lacks the necessary credibility. They always take Trump’s interests into account and do not speak against the Americans’ wishes. For example, they are unwilling to tell the world that America first accepted Pakistan’s proposal but then went back on its word,” Rezaei said.“They do not say that the Americans had commitments regarding Lebanon or blocked assets but failed to honor them. A mediator must be impartial, not always leaning to one side,” he added.This comes as Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi made frequent visits to Islamabad to keep negotiations alive despite uncertainty. Araghchi met Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir to discuss the conflict and possible pathways forward.Iran’s foreign minister had earlier met Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials before arriving from Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on Hormuz security and broader diplomacy.Reports suggest discussions went beyond the nuclear issue, covering a new legal framework for the strait, compensation, security guarantees, and lifting US maritime curbs.After Islamabad, Araghchi is on a visit to Moscow. Meanwhile, as momentum dips, US President Donald Trump said Iran can initiate contact if it wants negotiations, after Washington canceled planned talks in Pakistan.
