The newspaper quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying that Pakistan was very close to hosting the US-Iran talks twice in the last ten days, but both times, Tehran did not send its team.

Pakistan's PM Shahbaz Sharif

Iran War: Pakistan's newspaper, The Express Tribune, has made a significant claim regarding the Iran War, stating that US Vice President J.D. Vance was twice prepared to come to Islamabad for talks with Iranian leaders, but Iran decided to back out of the talks at the last minute. According to the report, Iran first requested time, citing internal deliberations, and later refused to participate in the talks altogether.

Setback for Pakistan in peace talks

This claim surfaced when Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar briefed senior journalists. The newspaper quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying that Pakistan was close to hosting US-Iran talks twice in the past ten days, but Tehran did not send a team on both occasions. The report also stated that the US was ready for talks, while Pakistan was disappointed with this stance.

According to the report, Pakistan had made high-level diplomatic efforts even before the war began. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir were prepared to travel to Tehran to meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but this was not possible due to changing circumstances.

Iran refuses to negotiate

Additionally, a key meeting held in Riyadh on March 19th, where foreign ministers from 12 Muslim countries discussed the regional situation, was also mentioned. According to the report, during this meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Turkey and Pakistan to avoid one-sided language against Iran in a joint statement. Pakistan also supported this, stating that Israel's role should not be overlooked in any statement.

The report suggests that behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts were underway, but mutual distrust and political differences have prevented any concrete talks. However, independent confirmation