Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed Thursday that his country is formally relaying messages between Washington and Tehran — the first official acknowledgment of an active back-channel since US and Israeli military strikes against Iran began 27 days ago. The confirmation ends days of speculation and elevates the diplomatic track to something more tangible than the vague references to "communication" that Trump and Secretary Rubio had been offering.
The administration framing is optimistic. Trump told reporters Wednesday that talks are "going very well" and that he expected Iran to "make the right decision." But diplomats and analysts tracking the negotiations describe a process still separated by fundamental gaps — gaps that the 15-point US framework handed to Tehran through Pakistani intermediaries makes plain.
The US framework, details of which were first reported by Al Jazeera and confirmed by three diplomatic sources cited by OPB, demands a complete dismantlement of Iran's nuclear enrichment program down to zero domestically enriched uranium, an immediate halt to IRGC support for proxy militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a verifiable cap on Iran's ballistic missile program at ranges below 300km, and a commitment to direct negotiations on a long-term security framework within 90 days. In exchange, the US is offering a phased sanctions relief package, a non-aggression guarantee valid for 10 years, and economic normalization talks to include access to frozen Iranian assets estimated at $8-12 billion.
