ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's prime minister said he had a "detailed" call with Iran's president on Saturday (March 28), as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey gathered in Islamabad for talks on the conflict in the Middle East.
The diplomats were due to attend talks Sunday and Monday "on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", the Pakistan foreign ministry said.
Shehbaz Sharif's government has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their conflict drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.
Sharif said he had a "detailed telephone conversation with my brother President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran earlier today, lasting over one hour", as part of preparation for the talks Sunday and Monday.
The talks will be led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who announced late Saturday that Iran had allowed "20 more ships" under the Pakistani flag -- or two ships daily -- to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward," Dar said on X, tagging US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Sharif said he had apprised Iran's president "of Pakistan's ongoing diplomatic outreach -- engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries -- to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation."
Pezeshkian hailed Islamabad's efforts and "thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression against the Islamic republic," according to his office.
The pair have spoken previously in recent weeks about the conflict and Pakistan's commitment to bringing it to an end.
Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump.
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon", without revealing his source.
While Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump's 15-point plan to end the conflict via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency. - AFP
