The Congress party on Tuesday said that if media reports suggesting Pakistan may be acting as an intermediary in communications between the United States, Israel and Iran are true, it would be a “severe setback” for India.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said multiple reports in leading international media outlets have identified Pakistan as one of the intermediaries being used between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.
“If these reports are true, they represent a severe setback and rebuff to India - and it is all attributable to the self-styled Vishwaguru,” Ramesh said on X.
He added that despite India’s “undoubted military successes” in Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has outperformed India diplomatically in the aftermath.
“For over a year, it has been abundantly clear that in spite of our undoubted military successes in Operation Sindoor, the sad reality is that thereafter Pakistan's diplomatic engagement and narrative management has been markedly superior to that of the Modi government,” he said.
Ramesh further claimed that Pakistan, which had been facing significant internal and external challenges, has gained renewed international relevance.
“Pakistan which was in a hugely precarious situation, politically, socially, economically and globally, has received a fresh lease of life,” he said.
He also alleged growing proximity between Pakistan’s establishment and US President Donald Trump.
“President Trump warmly and repeatedly embraced the man whose incendiary and inflammatory rhetoric formed the backdrop to the Pahalgam terror attacks on April 22 2025, and hosted Field Marshall Asim Munir twice in the White House (including for an unprecedented lunch). The Pakistani establishment has developed a cosy relationship with President Trump's immediate circle,” he claimed.
Ramesh also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent diplomatic choices, particularly a visit to Israel shortly before the escalation of hostilities.
“Modi's ill-advised visit to Israel, that ended just two days before the unprovoked US-Israel aerial assaults on Iran began, will go down in our political history as a singularly disastrous choice - one that has made us retreat from a position where we could and should have mediated,” he said.
“The prime minister's ‘huglomacy’ stands brutally exposed,” he added.
Trump says US and Iran are talking
Meanwhile, Donald Trump on Monday said the United States is in contact with a senior Iranian figure to negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict, now in its third week. However, he declined to identify the individual.
Trump clarified that the US was not engaging with Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, Tehran denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets”.
The conflict escalated after the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran beginning February 28, following mounting pressure from Washington over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The strikes reportedly resulted in the death of Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s retaliation has since widened the conflict across the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, the White House on has declined to confirm reports of potential meetings between senior US officials and Iranian representatives in Islamabad this week, ANI reported.
Responding to a query, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the situation remains fluid and involves sensitive diplomatic discussions. She added that the administration will not negotiate through the media and that any such engagements should only be considered official once formally announced by the White House.
