Pakistan is seeking a way to restart stalled talks aimed at ending the nearly five-month conflict between the United States and Iran, according to three Pakistani sources. The new diplomatic effort was launched at China’s initiative, the sources said. Preliminary discussions took place during Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni’s visit to Islamabad this week, when he met senior Pakistani officials and army chief Asim Munir.

Momeni’s trip was his second visit to Pakistan within 10 days, but major complications remain before negotiations can begin. Pakistan faces difficult diplomatic calculations after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. Pakistan, which signed a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia last year and relies on Saudi financial support, strongly condemned recent Houthi attacks.

China said it supports mediation initiatives by Pakistan and other countries and pledged an active role in restoring peace in the Gulf. A Pakistani official said China’s interests were being severely harmed by the continuing war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, while disruption in the Red Sea could endanger other trade routes. Islamabad has told Tehran that halting attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states is now a key precondition for new talks.