Pakistan trusted as US-Iran mediator, UN chief says

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Islamabad on Tuesday that Pakistan had acted as a crucial mediator between the United States and Iran and urged all parties to end the Middle East war.

Guterres said Islamabad’s mediation between Washington and Tehran showed that “Pakistan is trusted and is trusted even by countries that are at odds with each other”.

Pakistan brokered a June accord that led to a brief halt in fighting between the United States and Iran and set a roadmap for further agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“We can only wish that the efforts of Pakistan will go on and that they will be successful and will finally see peace in the Middle East,” Guterres told reporters.

He also called on all parties to “end the conflict, return to diplomacy” and fully restore navigational rights and freedoms under international law.

The war was launched by the United States and Israel on February 28. Tehran’s retaliatory strikes have targeted Washington’s Gulf allies, and the conflict has sent global energy prices higher.