An Iranian lawmaker has questioned Pakistan’s credibility as a mediator between the US and Iran. Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, questioned Pakistan’s neutrality as a mediator with Washington, describing it as “not a suitable intermediary for negotiations” that “lacks the necessary credibility.”
His remarks came as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Islamabad from Oman for talks, a day after he left without meeting US officials. The development prompted US President Donald Trump to cancel the visit of his envoys.
Rezaei alleged that Pakistan “always takes Trump’s interests into account and does not say a word against the Americans’ wishes.”
Pakistan always sides with America
He cited examples, claiming Islamabad was unwilling to highlight that Washington had initially accepted, and later backed away from, proposals related to Lebanon and Iran’s blocked assets.
Sharing his thoughts in an X post, Rezaei said, “Pakistan is a good friend and neighbor of ours, but it is not a suitable intermediary for negotiations and lacks the necessary credibility for mediation.”
“They always take Trump’s interests into account and do not say a word against the Americans’ wishes. For example, they are unwilling to tell the world that America first accepted Pakistan’s proposal but then went back on its word. They do not say that the Americans had commitments regarding the issue of Lebanon or the blocked assets, but failed to fulfill them. A mediator must be impartial, not always leaning to one side,” he further added.
Iran-US ceasefire proposal
Iran’s concerns stem from a ceasefire proposal put forward by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 8.
The proposal included a comprehensive ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, along with the release of Iranian assets.
However, senior US leaders, including President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, later rejected the conditions, describing Tehran’s position as insufficient.
Additionally, several media reports and social media users claimed that the draft of Prime Minister Sharif’s tweet, which briefly showed a “Draft” tag in its edit history, was directly influenced or even sent by the White House.
Araghchi’s Islamabad visit
Meanwhile, a second round of talks scheduled for April 25 stalled after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Islamabad without meeting US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Although he returned on April 26, for a brief period of time, he then left for the third leg of his trip to Moscow.
President Trump has continued to make unverified claims in the media and on Truth Social, even as the US maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran’s concerns over Pakistan’s neutrality are also linked to Islamabad’s 2025 Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia. Critics in Tehran argue that Pakistan’s heavy reliance on Saudi financial support and its military obligations to Riyadh prevent it from acting as a truly neutral mediator.
Meanwhile, the Iran-US ceasefire remains in place even as the United States continues its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has demanded the immediate lifting of the blockade and the full release of its blocked assets as a precondition for any further talks.
