Pakistan Played Key Role in US-Iran Backchannel Efforts: US Analyst

Analyst says President Donald Trump spoke with Pakistani leadership before cancelling planned strikes on Iran.

June 12, 2026 at 3:34 PM
icon-facebook icon-twitter icon-whatsapp

WASHINGTON: American analyst Mario Nawfal has claimed that US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s leadership shortly before calling off planned military strikes against Iran, amid ongoing backchannel efforts aimed at easing tensions with Tehran.

According to Nawfal, Pakistani leaders, who he said were acting as intermediaries in contacts with Iran, informed Trump that a breakthrough had been achieved, telling him: “We have a deal.”

He argued that this suggested the US president was not merely declaring victory unilaterally but had received direct assurances regarding a possible understanding.

However, Nawfal cautioned that the central question remained whether such a “deal” genuinely existed or whether Tehran could still resort to delaying tactics.

He said the current diplomatic process appeared to be based largely on private commitments, indirect contacts and expectations rather than publicly announced agreements.

The analyst further revealed that a source close to the Iranian negotiating team had apparently denied that any memorandum of understanding or formal arrangement with the United States had been approved by Tehran.

That denial, he noted, stands in direct contradiction to Trump’s assertions that Iran had agreed at a senior level to a proposed text.

The conflicting accounts have added to uncertainty surrounding the status of the reported US-Iran understandings, with no official confirmation yet issued by either Washington or Tehran regarding the existence of a finalised agreement.

Pakistan has not publicly commented on Nawfal’s claims, while questions continue to surround the nature and extent of any diplomatic role played by Islamabad in efforts to reduce tensions between the United States and Iran.

icon-facebook icon-twitter icon-whatsapp