Pakistan hosts Saudi, Turkey, Egypt for talks on Mideast war

This handout photograph taken and released by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 29, 2026 shows Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (R) speaking with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. [AFP]

Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey were expected to meet on Sunday for talks on the war in the Middle East, with Islamabad acting as a go-between between the United States and Iran.

The four-way meeting between the top diplomats of the Muslim nations was slated to discuss "a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", Pakistan's foreign ministry has said.

Egypt's Badr Abdelatty and Hakan Fidan from Turkey arrived in Islamabad on Saturday night while Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan touched down on Sunday afternoon.

Several roads leading to Islamabad's Red Zone where key government buildings and diplomatic missions are based were sealed off, AFP reporters said.

Security was tight and the driveway of the foreign ministry was decorated with the flags of all four countries.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held separate bilateral talks with Abdelatty and Fidan on Sunday morning. The visiting ministers then jointly met Pakistan's powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

The government in Pakistan has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their war drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.

Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump.

Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington but has passed a response to Trump's 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

Sharif on Saturday said he had a detailed telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian lasting over one hour, detailing his country's "ongoing diplomatic outreach".

Pezeshkian thanked Islamabad "for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression".

Late on Saturday, Dar, who is also the country's deputy prime minister, said Iran had allowed 20 more Pakistani-flagged vessels or two ships daily to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward," Dar said on X, tagging US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.