Pakistan as US-Iran Diplomatic Pivot: Why Islamabad, Not Paris

Gen. Asim Munir traveled to Tehran on April 16 to deliver a message from Washington. French media have not covered this visit, which is the only active diplomatic channel between the United States and Iran.

On April 16, Pakistani General Asim Munir traveled to Tehran to deliver a message from Washington to the Iranian leadership ([see our analysis](/fr/sujets/pakistan-munir-teheran-pivot-paix-20260416)). Pakistani media (Dawn, The News International) and those from the Gulf (Al Jazeera, The National) extensively covered the visit. French, German, and Italian media did not mention it.

Why Pakistan? Three factors converge:

1. Pakistan hosts the world's second-largest Shia population (source: International Cooperation Center). This religious and cultural affinity gives Islamabad credibility with Tehran that neither Paris, Berlin, nor London possess. Shiaism is a diplomatic bridge that Western powers cannot use.

2. A memorandum of understanding signed in January 2026 between Pakistan and an affiliate of World Liberty Financial (the Trump family's crypto platform) formalized institutional links between Islamabad and Washington (source: Reuters/Chatham House). This memorandum, overlooked in the West, explains why Pakistan can serve as a credible intermediary in the eyes of both camps.

3. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), valued at $65 billion in Chinese investments, hinges on regional stability. Pakistan has a direct material interest in de-escalation – it's a motivated mediator, not neutral.

US-Iran talks in Islamabad (April 10-12) had already positioned Pakistan as a mediator. Munir's visit to Tehran on April 16 confirms that the channel is active and operational. This is the first formal diplomatic channel between Washington and Tehran since relations were severed in 1979.

French media treat the mediation as a peripheral issue. The implicit framing: diplomacy that matters goes through Western capitals. The Pakistani and Indian framing: diplomacy that works goes through those who know the terrain.