ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh said on Monday efforts to facilitate talks between Washington and Tehran were complicated by “too many moving pieces,” cautioning that diplomacy would take time and rigid timelines rarely work even when efforts are made for quick results.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a facilitator amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, hosting consultations among Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt over the weekend and engaging multiple stakeholders as the war in Iran disrupts energy and trade routes amid fears of wider escalation.
“It’s a very complicated matter with too many moving pieces, economic, political,” Sheikh said in an interview with Fox News, adding that “multiple channels of communication ... at different levels of engagement” were currently in play.
His remarks come as Pakistan steps up diplomatic outreach amid media reports that Islamabad could emerge as the possible venue for talks between the US and Iran.
The country’s top officials have maintained close contacts with their US and Iranian counterparts in an effort to create conditions for dialogue.
Sheikh said expectations for rapid progress may be unrealistic, particularly given the challenges within Iran.
“Diplomacy is a gradual process,” he continued. “It takes a lot of patient politics that has to morph into deft diplomacy.”
The envoy also cautioned against strict deadlines for negotiations, referring to public timelines set by US President Donald Trump pushing Iran to respond.
“He kind of puts a deadline on it ... but let’s look at the fact that Iran is a war-torn country with communication channels certainly disrupted,” he said, noting that responses from Tehran may not come quickly and that previous deadlines had already been extended.
Sheikh said Pakistan was optimistic about facilitating talks, though he emphasized that progress ultimately depended on the parties involved.
He added that reducing hostilities would be key to moving forward.
“In any negotiation process, that would be a good thing to start with,” Sheikh said when asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, stressing that it would help create the diplomatic space needed for substantive discussions.
