PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad, July 11, 2026.

The alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump, as revealed by the Wall Street Journal and reported by The Express Tribune, comes at a critical time for Pakistan, which has positioned itself as a discreet mediator between the US and Iran for months. According to this report, Israel has provided the Americans with intelligence pointing to an Iranian attempt to eliminate the president, in response to Tehran's threats of retaliation since the death of General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. Trump himself confirmed the threat at the NATO summit in Ankara: "They want to eliminate the American leader - me. I'm on all the lists. So far, I've been lucky, but that may not last." Despite the tensions, he spoke by phone with Benjamin Netanyahu, with the two leaders agreeing to continue their coordination.

This announcement comes as the ceasefire agreed upon in April has just been declared "over" by Trump, following new Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, followed by massive US strikes - nearly 90 targets, according to the US military command - and then Iranian retaliation against bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. In this context, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on "all parties to exercise restraint," recalling that "the renewal of conflict is in no one's interest" and that "nothing replaces dialogue and diplomacy." Islamabad has reaffirmed its willingness to play a mediating role, relying on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which has been praised several times by the Trump administration.

For Pakistan, a plot targeting the life of the American president, in an already tense climate, threatens to undo months of diplomatic efforts and plunge a fragile region, affected by oil shortages and food anxiety, into total uncertainty.