ISLAMABAD, March 24 — Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today said he is willing to host talks between the United States and Iran on ending the war, a day after US President Donald Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants after what he called “productive” talks.
In a post on X, Shehbaz said Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the conflict in West Asia.
“Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict,” he said.
Trump yesterday said the US 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 and continued into yesterday, with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner involved.
Iran’s powerful 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 US 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 programme, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.
Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
