Tehran [Iran], April 27 (ANI): As diplomatic efforts to secure a breakthrough between the United States and Iran continue, senior Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei has questioned Pakistan’s role as a neutral intermediary.
Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran’s national security and foreign policy commission and the Dashtestan representative, suggested on X that Islamabad may be too aligned with Washington to serve effectively as a mediator. He wrote that “Pakistan is a good friend and neighbour of ours, but it is not a suitable mediator for negotiations and lacks the necessary credibility,” and alleged Pakistani officials “always take Trump’s interests into account and do not speak against the Americans’ wishes,” citing a reluctance to challenge US diplomatic reversals.
He pointed to instances he viewed as one-sided mediation, saying intermediaries “do not say that the Americans had commitments regarding Lebanon or blocked assets but failed to honour them,” and stressed that a mediator must be impartial rather than consistently leaning toward one side.
The remarks come amid intensive shuttle diplomacy by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who recently visited Islamabad to sustain the momentum of talks. In Pakistan, Araghchi met Army Chief General Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to explore potential pathways to resolving the regional conflict. Before Pakistan, he consulted in Oman with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said on maritime safety and broader diplomatic frameworks.
Reports indicate discussions have broadened beyond the nuclear impasse to include a “new legal framework for the strait,” along with demands for compensation, security assurances, and the removal of US naval restrictions. Araghchi subsequently travelled to Moscow for further high-level talks, even as the pace of negotiations showed signs of slowing.
Diplomatic friction was underscored by a recent shift in Washington’s stance: President Donald Trump said Iranian authorities “can initiate contact” if they seek to negotiate, after a proposed US delegation visit to Pakistan was cancelled. Despite that cancellation, sources say “fresh signs” of diplomatic movement have emerged. According to Axios, citing a US official, Tehran has provided Washington with a “new proposal” aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war, and has suggested postponing nuclear negotiations until a later phase of the peace process. (ANI)
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