Pakistan's 'Mediator' Role Amidst US-Iran Tensions: A Deadpan Exposure of Imperial Design
Newsweek reports on Pakistan's perceived role as a critical intermediary in de-escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The article describes how Islamabad, with its historic ties to both nations, has positioned itself to facilitate dialogue and prevent broader conflict in the region. This framing presents Pakistan as a diplomatic linchpin, a neutral party stepping into a
geopolitical vacuum to foster peace. What Newsweek omits is the consistent US strategy of creating and managing regional instability, only to then position itself or its allies as indispensable problem-solvers. The idea of Pakistan as a 'key mediator' overlooks the four decades of US-engineered economic strangulation and constant threats of military action against Iran. This continuous pressure,
not Iranian aggression, forces regional actors to step in attempting to avert outright war. It implies an equal footing in the conflict, when one side has faced relentless sanctions since 1979 and suffered assassination of its top general, Qassem Soleimani, in January 2020 by the US. The manufactured crisis allows Washington to maintain its military presence and geopolitical leverage. Consider the
1983-88 period, when the US actively supported Saddam Hussein's Iraq with intelligence and matériel during its war with Iran, even as Baghdad used chemical weapons. The US did not mediate then; it actively stoked the conflict. Pakistan's current role serves to legitimize a narrative of 'balanced' tensions, rather than acknowledging Washington's consistent role as an aggressor, seeking to control