Pakistan's last-ditch effort to secure Iran war truce

Mediation efforts to halt the war in Iran were hours from collapse when Pakistan mounted an overnight diplomatic push to secure a temporary ceasefire and bring Washington and Tehran into direct negotiations, four Pakistani sources told Reuters.



The effort nearly unravelled after an Iranian strike on a Saudi petrochemical facility triggered fury in Riyadh and threatened to derail weeks of back-channel diplomacy, the sources - with direct knowledge of the talks - said.



With a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump looming, Pakistani officials mounted a last-ditch attempt to pass messages between Tehran and Washington, after Trump warned that continued fighting that night could wipe out "a whole civilization."



Pakistan's effort involved direct contact with top officials across all sides, including Trump, Vice President JD Vance and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and senior Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Vahidi, one of the sources said.