US must talk directly, demands Iran as Pak, Turkey and Egypt try to broker peace

There was a glimmer of hope for the world as President Donald Trump halted strikes on Iran for five days, giving peace a chance. This came amid reports of Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey trying to broker peace in a war that has entered its fourth week now. Iran, on its part, has demanded that the US, as the party that began the war, must be a direct participant.

According to a report by the US news outlet, Axios, citing an unnamed American source, Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan have been passing messages between the US and Iran over the past two days.

The foreign ministers of the three countries held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, reported Axios.

"The mediation is ongoing and making progress. The discussion is about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues. We hope to have answers soon," a source familiar with the details said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had called on Sunday with Witkoff, Araghchi and his counterparts from Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said, adding that Abdelatty stressed the importance of "containing the broader effects of the conflict and preventing it from expanding."

This comes after US President Donald Trump loudly announced via a post on Truth Social that the US was going to stop attacking Iran's power generation facilities after having what he described as "very good and productive" conversations with Iran. This came hours ahead of a 48 hours deadline that threatened further escalation in the war that has entered its fourth week.

Iran's foreign ministry, however, has denied reports of such talks, with the Iranian news agency Mehr reporting Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as having rejected the US President's claims that talks are ongoing with Iran, and that Trump aims to buy time for US military plans and reduce energy prices.

That being said, Mehr also reported that "There are initiatives by regional countries to de-escalate tensions, and our response to all of them is clear: We are not the party that started this war, and all these requests should be referred to Washington."

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