Overview
Diplomatic efforts to halt the war in Iran nearly fell apart when Pakistani officials launched an intensive overnight shuttle of messages that ultimately persuaded Iran to accept a temporary ceasefire and enter direct negotiations, according to four Pakistani sources. The initiative unfolded amid heightened tensions after an Iranian strike on a Saudi petrochemical facility and as a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump approached.
The crisis point
Sources with direct knowledge of the communications said the mediation process was within hours of collapse after Tehran struck a petrochemical complex in Jubail, provoking severe anger in Riyadh and threatening to unravel weeks of discreet diplomacy. Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach intensified as the situation risked spinning further out of control.
With the deadline imposed by President Trump drawing near, Pakistani officials worked through the night to relay messages between Washington and Tehran. The contacts included top officials on all sides - from the U.S. President and Vice President to senior Iranian figures. One source described the sequence of events as several "intense, breathless" hours during which "the talks were almost dead" until Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire without preconditions and to enter negotiations.
Who was involved
Pakistan’s effort, the sources said, involved direct outreach to key individuals across the conflicting parties. Contacts reportedly included U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi.
Minutes before the U.S. announcement of a truce, President Trump was reportedly on the phone with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the sources said. The Pakistani military and civilian leadership remained actively engaged overnight, speaking with senior U.S., Iranian, Saudi and other officials until the White House announced the breakthrough.
Escalation and reassurances
Pakistani interlocutors conveyed what one source called Islamabad’s "strongest ever anger" to Iran over the strike on Saudi Arabia. Pakistan has a mutual defence pact with Riyadh, a relationship that raised the stakes for Islamabad and created pressure to respond to the attack on Saudi territory.
At the same time, Pakistan sought concrete assurance from Washington that it would rein in Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. Iranian officials said they had launched the strike on the Jubail petrochemical complex after an Israeli attack on an Iranian petrochemical facility, according to the second source. Tehran, the source added, would not enter negotiations while such strikes continued.
Pakistan told Washington that Israeli actions were putting its mediation at risk and that Islamabad might not be able to persuade Iran to come to the table. Only after Pakistan received an assurance that Israel would hold back was it able to convince Tehran to agree to a temporary ceasefire without preconditions, the source said.
Positions from Israel and the United States
Two Israeli sources said Israel had opposed a deal with Iran, judging that more could be achieved by military means, though it ultimately agreed to support whatever decision President Trump took. An Israeli official said Washington coordinated with Israel and that the truce did not contain commitments to permanently end the war, compensate Iran or lift sanctions.
The same official said that in any negotiations with Tehran the United States would press Iran to hand over nuclear material, halt uranium enrichment and remove the threat posed by its ballistic missile programme. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Late-night diplomacy and the ceasefire request
Around midnight local time (1900 GMT), Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all parties to observe a ceasefire to enable the peace process to begin. One source said the request was a coordinated attempt to lock in the ceasefire after both sides had already agreed in principle. "We wouldn’t have made the request if the answer was going to be negative," the source said.
Throughout the late-night talks, participants exchanged repeated messages over a 15-point U.S. proposal and debated two fundamental questions: the specific contours of the ceasefire and the parameters for the talks scheduled for Friday, a Middle East diplomat engaged with both sides said.
Negotiation demands and sticking points
According to the diplomat, Iran proposed recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz - the international waterway at the centre of much of the conflict - a demand likely unacceptable to Washington. Tehran was also seeking the right to pursue nuclear energy and to strike bilateral defence agreements with regional states, while mediators attempted to steer the process away from issues that could spark immediate clashes.
A Pakistani source described persuading Iran to accept a ceasefire without preconditions as the most difficult part of the night. "Until the last hours, Iran acted as a hardliner. The Iranians were not ready to budge without first putting their demands forward. We told them the demands can wait for the talks to happen," the source said.
Who will attend and what remains uncertain
Pakistan has announced delegations will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday, but it remains unclear who will represent each country. Two Pakistani sources said the Iranian delegation would be led by Abbas Araqchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, while the U.S. delegation would be headed by Vice President JD Vance. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said there were discussions about in-person talks but "nothing is final until announced by the President or the White House." The composition of delegations and exact negotiation modalities therefore remain subject to confirmation.
Aftermath and remarks
By the time the ceasefire announcement was made and Prime Minister Sharif extended invitations to delegations, much of the night had passed and dawn was approaching in Islamabad. "We have been working throughout the night," Sharif said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He added that the episode would serve as a lesson about perseverance in a seemingly hopeless situation if it were documented for future generations.
The recent sequence of events - an Israeli attack on an Iranian petrochemical facility, an Iranian strike on a Saudi petrochemical complex in Jubail, and the late-night Pakistani mediation that followed - illustrates the fragility of back-channel diplomacy and the high sensitivity to military actions that might derail negotiation efforts. The short-term outcome is a temporary ceasefire and an agreement in principle to engage in direct talks, but several unresolved items and uncertainties remain as delegations prepare to meet.