Why US-Iran talks now hinge on Pakistan
Pakistan’s role has shifted from ambitious mediator to urgent message carrier. The Guardian reported that Tehran passed a new proposal to Pakistani mediators as direct momentum faded, leaving Islamabad to test whether either side is willing to accept sequencing: de-escalation first, nuclear limits later.
That sequencing is the core problem. Washington wants a deal that prevents Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. Tehran says its program is peaceful and wants sanctions relief, security guarantees and recognition of its right to peaceful enrichment before accepting deeper nuclear concessions.
Islamabad has publicly cast itself as a facilitator, saying after the first Islamabad round that several rounds of “intense and constructive negotiations” ran through the previous 24 hours. In its official account, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the country “has been and will continue to play its role” in facilitating engagement between Iran and the United States.
The nuclear dispute behind the stalemate
The nuclear dispute has become more urgent because the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated in a February safeguards report that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile as of June 13, 2025, included 440.9 kilograms enriched up to 60% U-235. The agency also said it could not verify the current size, composition or enrichment-related activity because of missing access, making verification a central obstacle to any phased deal.
Iran has also hardened its public line. In an Associated Press interview, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Tehran was not ready for face-to-face talks while Washington maintained “maximalist” positions and added that no enriched material would be shipped to the United States.
Older talks show how momentum faded
The current impasse contrasts sharply with the guarded optimism of 2025. The first Oman-mediated round was described as positive and constructive in Reuters’ April 2025 report from Muscat. A week later, talks in Rome appeared to open the way toward drafting a framework for a possible nuclear deal. By the next Muscat round, however, Iran was already warning it was extremely cautious about the chances of success.
That history matters because the Pakistan channel is not starting from a clean slate. It is trying to rescue a process that lost momentum before the Strait of Hormuz, blockades and renewed military pressure became bargaining chips.
What Pakistan must prove next
Pakistan’s immediate test is whether it can turn shuttle diplomacy into a formula both sides can defend at home. For Washington, an interim deal that opens the strait but leaves enrichment unresolved risks looking weak. For Tehran, moving first on nuclear limits without sanctions relief or security guarantees risks looking like surrender.
That leaves a narrow path: a verifiable reopening of Gulf shipping, a pause in blockade measures, and a defined timetable for nuclear talks with inspectors restored early enough to build confidence. Without those elements, the peace push may remain stalled, and Pakistan’s mediator role could become a measure of how far apart Washington and Tehran still are.
