Qatar, Pakistan lead regional push to revive US-Iran talks amid rising tensions

Regional intermediaries led by Qatar and Pakistan are working to ease US-Iran tensions and revive stalled negotiations between the two countries, according to a US-based outlet that cited a regional source on Friday. The source said mediators believe the parties made real progress toward a deal in earlier talks and want to prevent the collapse of the memorandum of understanding, despite the latest escalation. The same source attributed recent Iranian attacks in Hormuz to actors opposed to the agreement. Officials from Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia held multiple phone calls on Wednesday with their US and Iranian counterparts, the outlet reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir in a Telegram post that US strikes and statements had violated the memorandum of understanding. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump declared the memorandum of understanding and a ceasefire with Iran over and ordered two waves of airstrikes. He met with senior national security officials on Thursday afternoon to discuss the Iran tensions and the path to a deal. A US official said afterward that the administration remained committed to finding a diplomatic solution and that technical talks were continuing.