标签： Oceania

As the United States and Iran edged toward full-scale conflict last week, with a hard deadline set by former US President Donald Trump looming over the region, an unexpected actor stepped forward to de-escalate tensions: Pakistan. In a matter of hours, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif secured a critical two-week ceasefire between the two adversarial powers, setting the stage for the first round of direct talks hosted in Islamabad. Now, following the conclusion of the initial negotiations, Pakistan is embracing its newfound identity as a reliable regional peace broker, even as work continues to arrange a second round of talks.

This diplomatic breakthrough marks a striking shift in global perceptions of Pakistan. For decades, the South Asian nation has been framed largely through the lens of regional security instability – grappling with domestic armed extremism and separatist movements, while facing longstanding international accusations of backing the Taliban in Afghanistan. Just last year, Pakistan itself was engaged in brief but intense armed conflicts: a high-stakes border clash with India in May, and two separate rounds of hostilities with neighboring Afghanistan, where Islamabad accuses the Taliban-led government of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups.

Analysts argue that Pakistan’s firm military responses to those 2024 conflicts laid critical groundwork for its current diplomatic success. “In international politics, the currency is power. When you have demonstrated it operationally, and now you are just building it up diplomatically,” explained Raja Qaiser Ahmed, an international relations professor at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University. Michael Kugelman, senior South Asia fellow at the Atlantic Council, echoed that assessment, noting Pakistan is keen to build on the momentum of its new role as a critical mediator.

Kugelman also highlighted Pakistan’s trailblazing strategic autonomy, calling it an “unsung success story” in this regard. For Pakistani leadership, the diplomatic push is as much about rebranding the nation’s global image as it is about securing regional peace. “Pakistan is looking to change global perceptions about its capacities as a global player,” Kugelman told AFP. “It does not like the fact that it has a poor global image and wants to essentially push back against its critics and show that it has the capacity to affect change and be influential on the global stage.”

Pakistan’s unique geopolitical position makes it an ideal neutral broker for the US-Iran conflict. From the outbreak of hostilities between Washington and Tehran, Islamabad intentionally avoided aligning with either side, a calculated choice that preserved its ability to mediate. Ties between Pakistan and the US have warmed considerably during the Trump administration, after Islamabad credited Trump with helping mediate an end to its 2024 border conflict with India – a claim New Delhi has repeatedly denied. A high-profile visit to Washington by Sharif and Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir followed the ceasefire, with Trump now openly referring to Munir as his “favourite field marshal.”

At the same time, Pakistan maintains deep, longstanding ties with Iran: it shares a 900-kilometer porous border with the country, and the two nations share extensive cultural and trade links, despite occasional diplomatic frictions. Pakistan also enjoys close diplomatic and economic ties with China, a key ally of Iran that both diplomats and Trump have credited with helping persuade Tehran to join negotiations. Additionally, Islamabad holds strong partnerships with Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia – with whom it has a mutual defense pact – many of which have been drawn into the conflict by Iranian retaliatory strikes.

After 21 hours of marathon negotiations in Islamabad, US Vice President JD Vance took the podium Sunday to announce no final deal had been reached. Even so, he was quick to praise Pakistan’s hosting and mediation efforts, thanking Sharif and Munir by name: “They did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal.” Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf offered similar gratitude to Pakistani officials. Asif Durrani, former Pakistani ambassador to Tehran, noted that the first round of talks had already cemented Pakistan’s status as a consequential regional power, regardless of the final outcome. “I think Pakistan is a power to be reckoned, and very much Pakistan is a player,” Durrani said. “Its geography is so unique that it cannot be ignored.”

As of Monday, Sharif confirmed that diplomatic efforts are ongoing to organize a second round of negotiations. Vance, however, has struck a harder line, telling Fox News that while further talks are not off the table, Washington retains “no flexibility” on its demands regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Even if negotiations collapse and hostilities resume, analysts say Pakistan will still walk away with tangible diplomatic gains. Kugelman argues that Pakistan faces no reputational risk from a failed deal, and has already secured a significant boost to its global standing. “If anything, it’s enjoyed reputational boost because it’s been able to push back against criticism that it doesn’t have the capacity to pull off this type of diplomacy,” he said. “It’s also strengthened its image. It’s been able to project itself as a peacemaker.”

On the second day of his groundbreaking first-ever papal visit to Algeria, Pope Leo XIV is set to travel to the northeastern coastal city of Annaba on Tuesday to walk in the footsteps of one of Christianity’s most influential theologians, Saint Augustine. This trip marks the opening stop of a four-nation African tour that already made history on Monday, when the American-born pontiff became the first pope to set foot on Algerian soil — but the opening day of his journey was largely overshadowed by sharp public criticism from United States President Donald Trump.

Annaba, which was known as the ancient Roman city of Hippo in centuries past, was Saint Augustine’s long-time home. The theologian’s autobiographical work *Confessions* remains a foundational text across Christian denominations worldwide, holding deep spiritual and cultural significance for believers across the globe. As a member of the Augustinian religious order, Pope Leo has previously described himself as a “son” of Saint Augustine, adding personal weight to this stop on his itinerary.

During his day in Annaba, the pontiff will first tour the archaeological vestiges of the city’s ancient Roman and early Christian past, before stopping at a reception center operated by Catholic nuns that provides support and care for low-income elderly residents of the city. In the afternoon, he is scheduled to lead an open-air Mass at the hilltop Basilica of Saint Augustine, with clergy from across the African continent in attendance.

On Monday, during his first public remarks in the Algerian capital of Algiers following his arrival, Pope Leo honored the memory of those killed during Algeria’s 1954–1962 war of independence from French colonial rule, and issued a powerful call for cross-community forgiveness. His comments come at a moment of sharply elevated diplomatic tensions between Algiers and Paris, and were delivered just days after he held a private meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Vatican.

Beyond addressing historical tensions, the pope also used his address to urge Algeria’s ruling leadership to embrace greater public participation in national political life, calling for the growth of a “vibrant, dynamic and free civil society.” His appeal follows years of restricted civic space after the 2019 pro-democracy Hirak protest movement, which demanded sweeping governmental reform and greater institutional transparency. International human rights organizations have documented consistent rolling back of civil freedoms and increased state control over public assembly and expression in the years since the protests began. “Authorities are called not to dominate, but to serve the people and foster their development,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered at Algiers’ Basilica of Our Lady of Africa.

The most high-profile drama of the trip’s opening day came not from Algerian politics, however, but from across the Atlantic, where Trump launched repeated public attacks on the pope over his recent calls for peace in the Middle East. Pope Leo’s calls for de-escalation in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran have drawn fierce pushback from the American president, who lashed out at the pontiff before the trip even began. In pre-trip comments, Trump accused the pope of “toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon,” and added that he was “not a big fan” of the current pontiff.

When faced with public outcry over his remarks after the pope arrived in Algeria on Monday, Trump doubled down on his criticism, saying he had “nothing to apologise for” and insisted that the pope was “wrong” to speak out on the conflict. Aboard the papal plane en route to Algiers, the pope pushed back against the attacks with calm resolve, telling reporters that the Gospel itself mandates advocacy for peace. “The Gospel says… blessed are the peacemakers,” he said, adding: “I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”

After wrapping up his two-day visit to Algeria on Wednesday, Pope Leo will travel onward to Cameroon, the second stop on his four-nation African tour. He will then continue to Angola and Equatorial Guinea for official visits before concluding the trip.

A high-stakes round of diplomatic talks between Lebanese and Israeli representatives is set to convene in Washington on Tuesday, hosted under the mediation of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But as the meeting gets underway, deep irreconcilable gaps between the two sides, combined with open opposition from key armed group Hezbollah, have left even veteran regional observers deeply skeptical that any meaningful breakthrough will be achieved. The talks mark the first direct, high-level diplomatic engagement between the Israeli and Lebanese governments since 1993, according to an anonymous senior State Department official. Attendees will include both nations’ ambassadors to Washington, as well as the U.S. ambassador to Beirut, the official confirmed. The core stated goals of the dialogue are to lay the groundwork for long-term security along Israel’s northern border and back the Lebanese government’s push to reassert full sovereign control over its entire territory, the official added. The conflict that brings delegates to the negotiating table erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel, drawing Lebanon fully into the broader regional conflict centered on tensions between Israel and Iran. Hezbollah’s entry into the fighting came just days after the February 28 joint Israeli-American offensive that killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, an attack the group has vowed to avenge. In the months since the conflict escalated, Israeli military operations have devastated large swathes of Lebanon. Intensive air strikes, including a massive bombardment of central Beirut on April 8, and a full ground invasion of southern Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over 1 million Lebanese civilians, despite repeated international calls for an immediate ceasefire. The biggest immediate rift between the parties centers on core demands that neither side appears willing to compromise on. For Israeli officials, any successful outcome is tied to the full disarmament of Hezbollah and the removal of the group from southern Lebanon. Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Monday that the country has no interest in discussing a ceasefire with Hezbollah, which she condemned for continuing unprovoked, indiscriminate attacks on Israeli civilian areas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on that position over the weekend, emphasizing that Israel’s non-negotiable goals are the full dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons arsenal and a durable, long-term peace agreement that will stand for generations. Public opinion in Israel heavily backs that hardline approach: a new poll published Monday by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 80% of Jewish Israeli respondents support continuing military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon regardless of diplomatic progress with Iran, even if that puts the country at odds with the Trump administration. On the Lebanese side, government leaders are framing the talks around an entirely different priority: securing an immediate ceasefire to end the ongoing devastation. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday he hopes the Washington talks will produce a ceasefire agreement that clears the way for full formal direct negotiations between the two states. Even before the talks began, Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem, head of the Iran-aligned movement that has led the fight against Israel, has openly called for the talks to be canceled, dismissing the entire process as “futile.” For the Trump administration, mediating the talks has proven to be a fraught diplomatic balancing act. U.S. officials have insisted that any resolution must meet two core demands that many analysts see as difficult to reconcile: the full disarmament of Hezbollah, and full respect for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, all while unconditionally upholding Israel’s right to security. The broader regional context has further complicated U.S. efforts: the Washington talks come just days after a new round of U.S.-Iran talks held in Pakistan failed to produce any breakthrough, and U.S. diplomats fear a continued escalation in Lebanon could derail any future progress on the Iranian nuclear and regional security file. Most regional analysts and even former insiders are already bracing for failure. “It would take a lot of imagination and optimism to think that the deep issues dividing Israel and Lebanon can be resolved in one day of talks in Washington,” a former senior Israeli defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity, acknowledging that “expectations are extremely low” going into the meeting. The former official added that if no agreement is reached, Israel is likely to move forward with establishing a large buffer zone in southern Lebanon, mirroring the security arrangement it currently maintains in the Gaza Strip.