"Negotiations were almost dead": Pakistan brokers last-minute ceasefire

Mediation efforts to stop the war in Iran were just hours away from collapse when Pakistan launched a diplomatic initiative overnight to secure a temporary ceasefire and bring Washington and Tehran to the same negotiating table, four Pakistani sources told Reuters.

Those efforts nearly collapsed after an Iranian attack on a Saudi petrochemical facility sparked anger in Riyadh and threatened to derail weeks of secret diplomacy, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the talks.

As a deadline set by US President Donald Trump approached, Pakistani officials launched a last-ditch attempt to convey messages between Tehran and Washington, after Trump warned that continued fighting that night could wipe out "an entire civilization."

Pakistan's efforts included direct contact with top officials on all sides, including Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior Revolutionary Guard commander Ahmad Vahidi, one of the sources said.

After what another source described as several “intense, breathless” hours, during which “negotiations were almost dead,” Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire without preconditions and to enter into negotiations.

"In the evening, Iran was on thin ice after the attack on KSA (Saudi Arabia), but they knew there would be no extension of the deadline," the first source said.

Pakistan's military and civilian leadership remained engaged throughout the night, speaking with senior American, Iranian, Saudi and other officials until Trump announced that progress had been made.

Minutes before Trump announced the news, he spoke by phone with Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the source said.

Guarantees regarding Israel

While Pakistan conveyed to Iran its "greatest ever outrage" over the attack on Saudi Arabia, with which Islamabad has a mutual defense agreement that could drag it into war, it simultaneously sought guarantees from Washington that it would curb Israeli strikes on Iran.

Iranian officials said the attack on the petrochemical complex in Jubail followed an Israeli strike on an Iranian petrochemical facility, another source said, adding that Tehran could not enter into negotiations if such attacks continued.

Pakistan then told Washington that Israeli actions were jeopardizing its peace efforts and that Islamabad might not be able to convince Iran to come to the negotiating table, the source said.

Only after receiving assurances that Israel would refrain was Pakistan able to convince Tehran to agree to a temporary ceasefire without preconditions.

Two Israeli sources said Israel opposed the deal with Iran, believing that more could be achieved militarily, although it ultimately decided to support any decision Trump made.

An Israeli official said that Washington coordinated with Israel and that the ceasefire did not include any obligation to permanently end the war, compensate Iran or lift sanctions.

The official added that, in any negotiations with Tehran, the United States would insist that Iran hand over its nuclear material, suspend uranium enrichment and eliminate the threat posed by its ballistic missile program.

Nobody slept.

Around midnight, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on all sides to respect the ceasefire so that the peace process could begin. The call was a coordinated move to cement the ceasefire and came after both sides had already agreed in principle to it, the first source said.

"We wouldn't have made such a request if the answer was going to be negative," the source said.

The late-night talks included multiple exchanges on the 15-point US proposal and two key issues: what a ceasefire should look like and what the framework for Friday's talks would be, said a Middle East diplomat who has been in contact with both sides.

Iran has proposed that it be granted sovereignty over the international waterway at the heart of much of the conflict - the Strait of Hormuz - a demand that Washington is likely to find unacceptable, the diplomat said.

Tehran has also demanded the right to develop nuclear energy and conclude bilateral defense agreements with states in the region, while mediators have tried to steer the negotiations away from issues that could spark immediate conflict, the diplomat added.

Although Pakistan announced that the delegations would arrive in Islamabad on Thursday, it is not clear who will represent each country.

Two Pakistani sources said the Iranian delegation would be led by Aragchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, while the United States would be represented by Vance.

However, White House spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt said today that "there are discussions about direct meetings, but nothing is final until announced by the president or the White House."

A third Pakistani source said the most difficult part of the process was convincing Iran to accept a ceasefire without preconditions.

"Until the last hours, Iran was acting tough. The Iranians were not ready to give in before they first presented their demands. We told them that the demands could wait until the talks began," the source said.

By the time Trump announced the ceasefire and Sharif extended invitations to delegations from both countries, the sun was almost rising over Islamabad.

"We worked all night," Sharif said at a cabinet meeting today, "... if we turn this into a book, it will be a great lesson for this nation and for generations to come, about how not to give up in a hopeless situation."