Pakistan can mediate between Washington and Tehran, but it cannot manufacture trust

When Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, met Iranian leaders in Tehran last Tuesday, he heard a familiar message in a harder form. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Washington must lift sanctions and pressure before talks resume. Security chief Mohsen Rezaei said no enriched material would leave Iran. After Munir left, a Qatari delegation arrived, a reminder that Islamabad no longer carries this file alone. The real test is not whether Pakistan can soften Tehran’s opening position. It is whether it can help two adversaries negotiate commitments neither believes the other will honour. The Islamabad Memorandum, signed on 17 June, extended the ceasefire for 60 days and promised to reopen Hormuz and lift the US blockade. It also pledged oil-export […]