Pakistan Calls on US to Lift Iran Sanctions, Signaling Regional Economic Anxiety

Pakistan’s influential newspaper Dawn has publicly called on the United States to take the first step toward regional peace by lifting sanctions on Iran, unfreezing Iranian financial assets, and engaging Tehran in good-faith diplomacy ^[1][2]. The editorial framing – positioning sanctions relief as a prerequisite for durable stability rather than a negotiating concession – signals something larger: growing anxiety in South Asia about the economic fallout of indefinite US pressure on Iran.

The timing matters. Pakistan has spent the past eighteen months navigating between Washington’s maximalist demands and Tehran’s refusal to negotiate under coercive conditions. In April 2026, Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, a diplomatic achievement that briefly suggested Islamabad could mediate a sustainable settlement ^[3]. That effort collapsed. Now, with talks stalled and no diplomatic off-ramp visible, Pakistani policymakers are signaling that indefinite sanctions are destabilizing the entire region – not just Iran.

For Pakistan, the calculation is straightforward. Iran is a neighbor, a trading partner, and a crucial energy supplier. The rial’s collapse, capital flight, and Iran’s shrinking ability to import goods have ripple effects across the border: reduced Iranian demand for Pakistani exports, disrupted energy flows, and the risk of economic spillover into Pakistan’s own currency crisis. When Dawn – a publication with close ties to Pakistan’s establishment – frames sanctions relief as a precondition for peace rather than a reward for Iranian concessions, it’s signaling that Islamabad views indefinite coercion as counterproductive to its own interests.

The editorial also reflects a broader shift in how regional actors perceive US strategy. Pakistan’s message is implicit but clear: Washington’s insistence on Iranian capitulation, rather than negotiated compromise, is pushing the region toward instability rather than resolution. This echoes earlier statements from Iraqi officials, who in late September were negotiating with the US to lift restrictions on Iranian airlines to allow humanitarian flights to resume ^[2] – another sign that US allies in the region are quietly pushing back against the scope and duration of sanctions.

What this tells us about the regime’s stability calculus: Iran’s economic isolation is creating pressure not just on Tehran but on the regional actors trying to manage the fallout. Pakistan’s willingness to publicly advocate for sanctions relief – a position that risks friction with Washington – suggests the cost of indefinite coercion is becoming visible enough that even US allies are reconsidering the strategy’s sustainability. The regime itself remains rigid on negotiations, but the regional consensus that enabled maximum pressure appears to be fracturing.