Pakistani officials warn of renewed US-Iran war within 48 hours
Pakistani officials warn of renewed US-Iran war within 48 hours
2026-08-18
Shafaq News – Middle East
Pakistani officials said on Tuesday that the next 48 hours could be crucial in determining the fate of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, warning that continued disagreement between the two sides and a failure to return to substantive negotiations could increase the risk of renewed strikes.
Pakistani sources told the Saudi website Asharq that the window for diplomacy remains open, but the gap between Washington and Tehran has widened, while regional mediation efforts are facing increasing difficulties in turning the temporary truce into a sustainable negotiating framework.
A senior Iranian official said that Tehran and Washington had not held talks on extending the ceasefire. Later, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry denied that negotiations were underway to extend the agreement.
High-level Pakistani sources are also not very optimistic after the recent visit of the Pakistani Interior Minister to Tehran, noting the difficulty of reaching common ground in light of the hardening of the Iranian position regarding the terms of a settlement.
A source said, “The Iranian military authorities are inflexible in their position, and this is a problem even for their negotiators.”
He added: “If this situation continues, another brutal war is imminently approaching us all.”
He continued: “Pakistan has made it clear that we should not move from the path of negotiations and mediation to the path of confrontations, because that does not achieve fruitful results.”
Sources said that Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner, and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and also spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
The sources added that other anticipated contacts include US Vice President JD Vance and President Trump.
The Pakistani Prime Minister also spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about developments after the ceasefire deadline expired.
A source familiar with the communications said that “so far, no encouraging response has been received from either side.”
The source pointed out that the countries involved kept the details of these contacts out of the public eye, adding that “Washington and Tehran are not prepared to sit down together, and this puts the matter in a very difficult position.”
A senior Pakistani official said the Iranians had expressed concern about Israeli preparations and the 10-day visit of US Central Command chief General Brad Cooper to the Middle East.
shafaq.com
