How did Pakistan bring Iran and the U.S. to the negotiating table?

NPR | By Jeffrey Pierre,

Juana Summers, Tinbete Ermyas

Published April 9, 2026 at 4:42 PM EDT

Pakistan has acted as a mediator between Washington D.C. and Tehran over the last few weeks, and helped broker the ceasefire agreement this week. NPR's Juana Summers talks to Elizabeth Threlkeld, a senior fellow and director at the Stimson Center, about why Pakistan decided to step into this role.

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Jeffrey Pierre

Jeffrey Pierre is an editor and producer on the Education Desk, where helps the team manage workflows, coordinate member station coverage, social media and the NPR Ed newsletter. Before the Education Desk, he was a producer and director on Morning Edition and the Up First podcast.

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Juana Summers

Juana Summers is a political correspondent for NPR covering race, justice and politics. She has covered politics since 2010 for publications including Politico, CNN and The Associated Press. She got her start in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Mo., and also previously covered Congress for NPR.

See stories by Juana Summers

Tinbete Ermyas