- Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, UAE also invited for talks.
- Talks with US to proceed within “national interests”: Pezeshkian.
- Iran’s Khamenei warned of “regional war” if US attacks.
Pakistan has been invited to take part in Iran-US talks focused on easing tensions between Tehran and Washington, the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andarabi, while speaking to Geo News, confirmed Pakistan’s invitation to the negotiations, which are scheduled to take place in Istanbul later this week.
According to diplomatic sources, the Iran-US talks are being held as part of backchannel diplomatic efforts involving multiple regional stakeholders.
Pakistan and Turkiye are said to have played a role in facilitating these behind-the-scenes engagements that helped pave the way for the dialogue, the sources said.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar is likely to represent Pakistan at de-escalation talks between Tehran and Washington, they said.
According to a Reuters report, some of the other countries invited to the talks at the foreign ministers’ level included Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The person said the format of the meetings remained unclear, but that the “main meeting” would take place on Friday and that it was important to start dialogue between the parties to avoid further escalation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of nuclear talks with the United States, after his counterpart Donald Trump threatened “bad things” if no deal was reached.
“In light of requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations….. I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X.
The talks will be held “within the framework of our national interests”, he said.
Washington dispatched an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following anti-government protests in Iran that peaked last month.
US President Trump has said he remains hopeful that Washington will “work something out” with Iran, but warned on Monday that “bad things would happen” if no deal is reached.
Tehran has insisted it wants diplomacy while vowing an unbridled response to any aggression.
It has repeatedly stressed that talks should remain focused solely on the nuclear issue, rejecting negotiations over its missile programme or defence capabilities.
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a nuclear deal with the US was achievable.
“So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapon,” he said.
“So if that is the case, I am confident that we can achieve a deal,” he added.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned of a “regional war” if the US attacked his country.
The priority of talks between the US and Iran this week in Istanbul is to avoid any conflict and de-escalate tensions between the two sides, a regional official told Reuters.
— With additional input from AFP and Reuters
