ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday the “final objective” in peace negotiations between Iran and the United States is about to be achieved, asking all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint.
The development came after Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday in their first attacks since the US struck a ceasefire with Tehran in April. Iran’s military said hours later that it was halting offensive operations as renewed hostilities threatened to drag the Middle East back into a full-scale war.
The US told Iran there would be no more attacks by Israel if Iran halted its missile strikes, and that Israel has agreed to halt attacks for now, AP news agency reported, citing a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In a post on X, the prime minister of Pakistan, a key mediator between Iran and the US, said the recent surge in violence in the Middle East was a “stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to.”
“As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” Sharif said.
“Let us continue to remain on the path of peace and diplomacy which have bright prospects of success instead of violence and destruction!“
Islamabad also hosted the first round of direct peace talks between the US and Iran on April 11 which failed to achieve a breakthrough. Since then, Pakistan has remained in regular contact with the leaderships of both countries, while Naqvi and Munir have visited Iran in attempts to secure a peace deal.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is in Tehran as part of Islamabad’s mediation efforts, while Iranian state media reported that Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday discussed Israel’s ceasefire violations in Lebanon with Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven energy prices up around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April 8 ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.
During the truce, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure was the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed. Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, and pushed deeper into that country. And on Monday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally, fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea.
With little apparent progress in peace talks, Israel and Iran exchanging fire, and the Houthis joining the fight, the risk of the war fully erupting again appeared higher than at any point since the ceasefire.
In the wake of the new attacks, US President Donald Trump wrote online: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”
Shortly after, the Iranian military’s joint command issued a statement, saying if Israel or its supporters carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including in southern Lebanon, then “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Pakistan and Qatar have urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to rein in its strikes on Iran and Beirut. They have also urged Iranian officials to stop attacks in the region.
Trump said talks were ongoing for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, though he gave no details.
