Reuters. Pakistan's prime minister said on Tuesday (March 24) he was willing to host talks between the United States and Iran on ending the war, a day after President Donald Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants after what he called "productive" talks.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East.
Trump said on Monday (March 23) the U.S. and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East". He said talks had begun on Sunday (March 22) and continued into Monday, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner involved.
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf - the interlocutor on the Iranian side, according to an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter - said no talks had taken place, describing suggestions that they had taken place as "fake news".
The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran's nuclear program although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.
Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host U.S. bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.
