Pakistan has been invited to participate in the Iran-US talks aimed at de-escalation of tensions between Tehran and Washington, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed on Tuesday.

“Pakistan has received the invitation for the upcoming talks between Iran and the United States,” FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said while responding to a query.

“Pakistan’s participation is seen as crucial to defusing tensions, as Islamabad has been quietly working to facilitate the talks,” a diplomatic source told Dawn.

The diplomatic source added that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is expected to participate in the meeting.

The meeting is likely to take place in Turkiye on Friday, an Arab official told AFP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

US outlet Axios cited two unnamed sources and a US official as saying Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Istanbul to discuss a possible deal on the nuclear issue.

The priority of the talks is to avoid any conflict and de-escalate tensions between the two sides, a regional official told Reuters, adding that some regional powers were also invited.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the countries invited to the talks at the foreign ministers’ level included Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The person said the format of the meetings remained unclear, but that the “main meeting” would be on Friday and that it was important to start dialogue between the parties to avoid further escalation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed on Tuesday that he has instructed FM Araghchi to pursue “fair and equitable negotiations” provided that an environment “free from threats and unreasonable expectations”.

The talks will be held “within the framework of our national interests”, he said in a series of posts on X.

Trump has maintained he is hopeful that Washington will “work something out” with Iran, but also warned on Monday that “bad things would happen” if no deal is reached.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Araghchi said: “President Trump said no nuclear weapons, and we fully agree. We fully agree with that. That could be a very good deal.”

He added, “In return, we expect sanctions lifting.”

However, Araghchi said Tehran was ready for war if talks fail and warned that a conflict would likely spiral beyond Iran, CNN added.

Turkiye has led a diplomatic push to defuse tensions, with FM Araghchi visiting Istanbul last week and speaking with other regional counterparts, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have assured Tehran that they would not allow their airspace or territory to be used for military action against Iran, while Jordan has also said it would not act as a “launching pad” for any such action.