Pakistan in the middle: What benefits and risks from being US-Iran mediator?

About this episode

The episode discusses Pakistan's emerging role as a mediator between the US and Iran amidst geopolitical tensions and economic challenges.

There are those who want the US and Iran to settle, and those who want regime change. Among the latter, there's of course Israel and then there's the United Arab Emirates, who've signaled OPEC's cautious response as a reason for quitting the cartel. Is this the end of OPEC? How will its biggest producer Saudi Arabia respond? The Emirates also seem to have it in for Saudi ally Pakistan, by suddenly demanding the immediate reimbursement of a $3.5 billion loan from the cash-strapped facilitators of US-Iran mediation efforts. How did Pakistan emerge as a central player? What are the benefits and risks when you raise your hand to facilitate dialogue between sworn enemies, particularly when one's your neighbour and the other's a global superpower that can scuttle an IMF bailout if relations sour? At the heart of it all is the powerful chief of the military, Field Marshal Asim Munir. He knows Iran well from his time as head of intelligence and has infuriated India by ingratiating himself with Donald Trump . But what if the US president turns out to be a fair-weather friend? And can the art of the deal bring down prices at the pump for ordinary Pakistanis left reeling by the blockade in…

Topics covered

• US-Iran relations
• Pakistan's role in mediation
• Middle East politics
• OPEC dynamics
• Geopolitical risks
• Military influence

Keywords

• US-Iran mediation
• Pakistan
• OPEC
• Saudi Arabia
• Iran
• Field Marshall Asim Munir
• geopolitics
• Middle East
• economic risks
• diplomacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: United Arab Emirates, OPEC, Saudi Arabia

Places: Pakistan, Iran, India, United States

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