NEW DELHI: A United States political scientist has said Pakistan is in the best position to mediate between the United States and Iran, urging support for Islamabad’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, which is affecting countries across the world.
Professor John Mearsheimer, in an interview with Indian news channel Times Now, said the international community should hope for Pakistan’s success in its mediation role, arguing that resolving the war is in the “profound interest” of all sides.
The American political scientist said that Pakistan is playing a key diplomatic role in ending the conflict between the US and Iran. He said that there are “real limits” to what any third party can achieve in resolving the conflict.
Professor Mearsheimer said Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts should be welcomed by all countries, including India, given the global impact of the conflict.
‘Hope Pakistan succeeds’
“I think we should all hope, and this includes all Indians, that the Pakistanis are successful, because we all have a profound interest in settling this war,” Professor Mearsheimer said.
He said Pakistan has acted as an honest mediator by engaging both Washington and Tehran and facilitating communication between the two sides.
Pakistan has hosted the first round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, which was attended by US Vice President JD Vance and his team, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation.
“Pakistan is just a mediator. Pakistan can talk to the Americans, it can talk to the Iranians, and it can pass messages back and forth,” he said.
“But ultimately, Pakistan has little influence. It depends on what the Iranians think and what the United States thinks.”
He added that meaningful progress would depend on Washington’s assessment of the economic impact of the conflict.
“I don’t think we are going to see much progress, no matter what Pakistan does, until the Americans decide that they need to shut this down because the damage being done to the international economy is so great,” he said.
Global economic impact
Professor Mearsheimer warned that further escalation could have serious global economic consequences.
“The longer this continues, the greater the damage,” he said, adding that further US military action against Iran would be “disastrous for the global economy”.
He also said such escalation would have “serious consequences for India”, given its economic exposure to global energy markets.
Mearsheimer said India should maintain a low public profile in the mediation process.
He suggested that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should engage privately with Washington and Tehran to encourage de-escalation, but said India was not currently positioned to act as a mediator.
“India is not in a position to mediate. I think Pakistan is in the best position,” he said.
At the same time, he reiterated that Pakistan’s efforts should be supported.
Pakistan is playing an active diplomatic role in facilitating communication between the United States and Iran and hosting high-stakes talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad to end the conflict.
