Pakistan is playing intermediary in the Iran war, a role it has played before

NPR | By Betsy Joles,

Vincent Ni

Published April 2, 2026 at 4:41 AM EDT

Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary in the U.S-Israel war with Iran. It played this role before, during a high-stakes moment in diplomatic history.

Betsy Joles

Vincent Ni

Vincent Ni is the Asia Editor at NPR, where he leads a team of Asia-based correspondents whose reporting spans from Afghanistan to Japan, and across all NPR platforms.

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