Pakistan Asks Tehran And Washington To Hold Direct Talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Office has urged Washington and Tehran to directly engage with each other on Iran’s nuclear issue in order to resolve matters through diplomatic negotiations.

Foreign office spokesman made these comments in a weekly media briefing ,“While we stand ready to participate in any format of dialogue and diplomacy on Iran, we encourage the relevant parties to have as direct a negotiation framework as possible,” Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said in response to a question.

Pakistan was formally invited to participate in Tehran-Washington talks scheduled to be held in Istanbul last Friday. Several other regional Muslim countries were also invited to talks which were scheduled to take place under the auspices of the Turkish foreign Ministry.

However the venue and host of the talks were changed at the last minute, when the two countries opted for Oman as the venue of the talks.

The indirect talks between Washington and Tehran took place in Muscat on Feb 6 amid heightened military tensions, including an expanded US military presence and warnings from President Donald Trump of severe consequences if no deal is reached. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, acted as a mediator. He shuttled between the two sides. Both sides described the discussions as a “good start”.

A follow-up visit by Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, took place in Muscat around Feb 9-10 to discuss next steps.
No date or venue has been formally announced for the next round of talks. However both sides have expressed their willingness to continue the talks.

Pakistani foreign office spokesman said the momentum generated in Muscat would continue. “We hope the positivity (in Oman talks) would be carried forward by the parties in the conduct of these talks,” he noted.

“Pakistan welcomes the talks in Oman between relevant parties. We support all initiatives of dialogue and diplomacy to settle outstanding issues, including this question of nuclear talks,” Mr Andrabi said.

“a positive progression towards a negotiated solution”. During the briefing, Mr Andrabi was asked specifically about Pakistan’s role in the Muscat process, but he did not directly address whether Islamabad had facilitated contacts or participated behind the scenes. However, he reiterated that Pakistan supports dialogue and would be ready to participate “in any format”, if requested.

Washington sent USS Abraham led strike group to the Persian Gulf area amid growing political unrest in Iran, where violent protests gripped all the 31 provinces of Iran.

The US military deployment in the Persian Gulf area was preceded by threats from the US President that American forces would strike inside Iran if the clergy led regime in Tehran used force against protesters. The Tehran Military chief responded that IRan would hit back with full force against US bases and other interests in the region in case American forces strike against Iran.

Iran’s most advanced deployed missiles, such as the Sejjil and Khorramshahr-4, have a maximum confirmed range of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 km. This reach covers the entire Middle East, including U.S. regional bases and most of Eastern Europe, but falls far short of the ~10,000 km required to hit the U.S. mainland.

In early 2026, Iranian officials and state-linked media claimed to have successfully tested a missile with a 10,000 km range. Reports suggest this test may have been conducted toward Siberia with Russian approval. Independent Western intelligence agencies have not yet confirmed these results.