A senior Iranian diplomatic official has told the press that the Islamabad Memorandum – a bilateral document between Iran and Pakistan once regarded as "hibernating" – is now being vigorously reactivated, with unexpected backing from the United States.
According to the source, during recent contacts in the Pakistani capital, the US special representative for Iran affairs held direct talks with Islamabad officials, emphasizing shared interests in stabilizing relations between the two neighboring Islamic countries. Analysts view this move as a turning point, given that Washington previously tended to keep its distance from regional diplomatic initiatives involving Tehran.
The Islamabad Memorandum, signed in 2019, focuses on border security, counterterrorism, and economic-trade cooperation between Iran and Pakistan. However, due to internal disagreements and geopolitical pressures, the document remained largely unimplemented for an extended period.
Observers suggest that US involvement may aim to counterbalance China's growing influence in South Asia – particularly as Beijing pushes large-scale infrastructure projects in Pakistan. The revival of this document could also pave the way for broader negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, a sensitive topic on which Washington and Tehran have found no common ground since the collapse of the JCPOA in 2018.
There has been no official comment yet from the US or Pakistani foreign ministries. However, multiple diplomatic sources in the region confirm that technical meetings at the expert level among the three parties have been scheduled in the coming weeks to map out a concrete roadmap for implementing the memorandum's provisions.
If successful, this revival would not only help stabilize the nearly 900-kilometer border region, which frequently witnesses clashes, but also lay the groundwork for expanding bilateral trade – currently modest at an estimated $1.5 billion per year compared to its actual potential.
