Intermediaries from Pakistan and Egypt were working urgently on Wednesday to arrange direct face-to-face negotiations between Washington and Tehran, with both countries expressing confidence that talks could begin as early as Friday. Pakistan and Turkey were both suggested as possible venues for the sensitive meetings. The push came amid considerable diplomatic activity but equally considerable pessimism about the prospects for a quick breakthrough.
Iran had rejected the US 15-point ceasefire proposal and responded with its own five-point counter-demands. Tehran’s foreign minister said Iran had no current intention of negotiating, while Iranian military and foreign ministry officials denied Trump’s claims that contacts were already underway. The divergence between what American officials said was happening and what Iranian officials acknowledged publicly made it difficult to assess the true state of play.
Pakistan’s role as an intermediary was particularly significant given its history of serving as a back-channel between the US and Iran. Islamabad had delivered the American proposal to Tehran earlier in the day and was now working to arrange a response that both sides could accept as a basis for talks. Egyptian officials were pursuing a parallel track, with their foreign minister having spoken to China’s Wang Yi about the need for dialogue.
China’s engagement underlined the global stakes of the conflict. Wang Yi told his Egyptian counterpart that both parties had shown enough willingness to engage to offer hope. Beijing’s economic interests in a stable Middle East and unobstructed oil flows gave it strong incentives to push for a settlement. Chinese officials were careful not to openly take sides, positioning China as a concerned neutral party invested in a peaceful resolution.
President Trump said his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance were all engaged with Iranian counterparts, though he was vague about who exactly was on the Iranian side of the conversation. The White House urged reporters not to get ahead of themselves while simultaneously suggesting that direct talks were a real possibility. With fuel prices driving Trump’s approval to a record low of 36%, the administration had powerful domestic incentives to deliver results quickly.