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As Israeli strikes continue to reshape the political landscape of West Asia, Pakistan has been quietly working the phones, according to a Pakistani source, with at least one concrete result.

Israel removed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf from its target list after Pakistan urged the US to press Israel not to eliminate them, a Pakistani source with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. 

“The Israelis had their coordinates and wanted to take them out. We told the US that if they are also eliminated, there is no one else to talk to. Hence, the US asked the Israelis to back off,” the source added.

The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that the two officials had been temporarily removed from Israel’s elimination list as the possibility of peace talks is being explored, citing US officials, but made no mention of any Pakistani role.

The mediator

The disclosure underlines Pakistan’s increasingly consequential position in the Iran conflict. Along with Egypt and Turkey, Islamabad has been playing a mediating role between Tehran and Washington at a moment when direct channels between the two are effectively frozen. Pakistan has maintained contact with both sides throughout, and has been widely discussed as a potential venue for any eventual peace talks.

It is through Pakistan that US President Donald Trump recently transmitted a 15-point proposal to Iran outlining conditions for ending the war, which, among them, was the removal of Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, a halt to enrichment, curbs on its ballistic missile programme and a severance of funding to regional allies, according to Israeli Cabinet sources familiar with the plan.

Tehran’s response has been ambivalent. Araghchi has said Iran is reviewing the proposal but has no intention of entering talks to wind down the conflict. 

Precarious reprieve

The two Iranian officials’ removal from the Israeli list is, by WSJ’s account, temporary, lasting up to four or five days. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that no senior Iranian figure is beyond reach. 

Last week, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorised the military to strike officials without requiring prior authorisation on a case-by-case basis.

Asked directly whether Araqchi and Qalibaf had been taken off the target list following Pakistan’s intervention, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said the military followed “a rigorous process before every operation and every strike,” but declined to address specific potential targets.