• Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt foreign ministers arrive for quadrilateral huddle
• PM speaks to Pezeshkian for over an hour to push for peace, condemns strikes on Iran
• Iranian president underscores ‘deep mistrust’ of US, seeks confidence-building measures
• US-Iran direct talks mediated by Pakistan likely in Islamabad next week; insider claims ceasefire may precede this meeting
ISLAMABAD: Diplomatic efforts to bring the United States and Iran to the negotiating table to end nearly a month of hostilities entered into top gear on Saturday, with officials pointing to potential progress by midweek even as deep Iranian mistrust of Washington continues to cast a long shadow over the process.
Momentum built around a lengthy phone call between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as Islamabad prepared to host a four-country meeting seen as central to the emerging peace initiative.
According to officials, the call lasted about 90 minutes and was the PM’s second conversation with Mr Pezeshkian in five days, both of which focused on de-escalation and pathways to dialogue.
Pakistan has stepped up diplomatic outreach, engaging Washington, Gulf capitals and other Muslim countries in an effort to create space for talks. Islamabad is set to host a meeting of the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt, alongside Pakistan.
In a press release issued on Saturday, the Foreign Office said that at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Saudi Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan, and Egypt’s FM Dr Badr Abdelatty will visit Islamabad from March 29 to March 30. All three foreign ministers arrived in Pakistan on Saturday night, confirmed the FO in a statement.
