THE globe was on the brink just weeks ago. On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel executed synchronized military operations against Iran. Tehran retaliated. Oil markets toppled. The Strait of Hormuz was choked shut for months. What began as a regional confrontation threatened a global conflagration that could have drawn in nuclear-armed powers and engulfed the entire planet. That catastrophe was averted not by Washington or Tehran alone, but by Islamabad. On June 18, the United States and Iran signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding”, a 14-point framework named for Pakistan’s singular role in shepherding negotiations through weeks of brinkmanship. Both sides agreed to terminate military operations on all fronts. Iran would reopen the Strait. The United States would lift its naval blockade. A 60-day window opened to resolve Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions, frozen assets and the contours of lasting peace.

Pakistan’s emergence as the central mediator is an achievement without parallel in modern diplomatic history. Pakistan was the only Muslim country to formally condemn the Israeli attacks on Iran, which allowed Islamabad to launch a full backchannel de-escalation campaign thereafter. The breakthrough was orchestrated through consultations between the senior leadership of both rival countries, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim........

© Pakistan Observer