By Ariba Shahid, Jonathan Spicer and Mubasher Bukhari
ISLAMABAD/ISTANBUL, March 29 (Reuters) – Pakistan hosted talks with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Sunday as part of its efforts to broker an end to the Iran war, with initial discussions focused on proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, sources familiar with the matter said.
At the end of the first day of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said foreign ministers from the regional powers had discussed “possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region,” and had been briefed on potential U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.
The talks were held as Iran warned the U.S. against launching a ground attack and global oil prices surged amid continued fighting between Iran, the U.S. and Israel.
The countries meeting in Pakistan have floated proposals to Washington tied to maritime traffic in the Gulf, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as part of wider efforts to stabilise shipping flows.
The Strait of Hormuz was previously a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, but Iran has effectively halted shipping flows through it in response to the U.S. and Israeli air strikes that began a month ago.
Dar said all sides had expressed confidence in Pakistan’s role, adding that China “fully supports” the initiative.
PROPOSALS ON REOPENING HORMUZ
Pakistan, which like Turkey borders Iran, has leveraged its close ties to both Tehran and Washington to emerge as a key diplomatic channel in the conflict, while Ankara and Cairo have also played a role.
A source from Pakistan said proposals, including from Egypt, had been forwarded to the White House before Sunday’s meeting and that they included Suez Canal-style fee structures.
Two other Pakistani sources said Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could form a consortium to manage oil flows through the waterway, and had asked Pakistan to participate. The first Pakistani source said Islamabad had not been formally asked to join and maintains that it will not.
The proposal for a management consortium had been discussed with the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. The first Pakistani source said the country’s army chief Asim Munir had been in regular contact with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Egypt’s and Pakistan’s foreign ministries did not respond to a request for comment on the reported proposals. The Saudi government media office and the White House did not immediately reply to a comment request.
A Turkish diplomatic source said Ankara’s priority was securing a ceasefire.
“Ensuring the safe passage of ships could serve as an important confidence-building measure in this regard,” the source said, requesting anonymity.
Earlier on Sunday, Dar held separate one-on-one meetings with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, his office said.
He said in a post on X that Iran had agreed to allow 20 more Pakistani-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid and Mubasher Bukhari in Islamabad and Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul; Additonal reporting by Mohamed Ezz in Cairo, Maha El Dahan in Dubai and Saad Sayeed in BangkokEditing by Helen Popper and Ros Russell)
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