Pakistan, Qatar, and other regional mediators are working to ease tensions between the United States and Iran as they aim to revive negotiations between the two nations, according to sources from the intermediary countries and a U.S. official, reported by Axios.
Despite President Donald Trump's announcement on Wednesday ending the memorandum of understanding and ceasefire with Iran, followed by ordering rounds of airstrikes, his focus remains on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while trying to avoid full-scale war, Axios noted.
Mediators believe that "despite recent escalations, both parties have made progress towards an agreement in previous negotiation rounds and wish to prevent the memorandum's collapse."
A regional source from one of the intermediary countries told Axios that the recent Iranian attacks in Hormuz were orchestrated by elements within Iran's regime opposing the memorandum and aiming to undermine it.
Sources revealed that Qatari, Pakistani, Turkish, Egyptian, and Saudi officials held multiple phone calls with American and Iranian officials on Wednesday to calm the situation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir through a Telegram statement that U.S. attacks and statements constitute a memorandum violation.
A regional mediation source stated: "Intensive diplomatic efforts are underway to first reach a de-escalation agreement between the parties, then set a date for another round of technical team negotiations."
Following nights of exchanges between U.S. and Iranian forces, Thursday was quieter, despite Iranian media reports of explosions in the country's south. U.S. officials said the military launched no new strikes that day.
An American official noted that this resulted from de-escalation efforts.
According to Axios, Trump held a Thursday afternoon meeting with senior national security officials to discuss tensions with Iran and the path forward for the agreement.
Post-meeting, a U.S. official stated that the Trump administration "remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution, with ongoing technical discussions for a nuclear agreement."
Trump's stance was clearly expressed, labeling Iran's attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz as acts of terrorism, the official added.
The memo is performance-based, with Iran's actions deemed unacceptable performance failures," he concluded.