FILE: Tehran, Iran - Aug 24, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Israel Media/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
1. Various of Iranian national flag, traffic

Washington D.C., USA - Sept 24, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of White House; U.S. national flags

Pakistan - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabia Akhtar, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lahore:
"Pakistan's role is valuable because keeping a channel open gives the parties somewhere to take those agreements. A mediator can clarify a proposal, explore a sequence of reciprocal steps, and help each side understand what the other might accept. But a mediator cannot make the commitments on their behalf. Ultimately, Washington and Tehran have to decide that an agreement serves their interests and that they are prepared to implement it."

FILE: Strait of Hormuz - Sept 8, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Israel Media/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
4. Various of vessels anchored at sea; waves

Pakistan - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabia Akhtar, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lahore (partially overlaid with shots 6-7):
"There's also the domestic political problem. If you have told your public that anything short of the other side's surrender will be a defeat, you have made your own diplomacy much harder. Leaders need room to explain that a negotiated outcome can protect national interest. And quiet diplomacy helps because it allows options to be explored before every proposal becomes a public test of resolve."

++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUDNBITE++
FILE: Tehran, Iran - Aug 24, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Israel Media/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
6. Traffic

FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of White House, flags
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUDNBITE++

FILE: Tehran, Iran - Aug 24, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Israel Media/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
8. Various of Iranian national flags on road lamps

FILE: Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Capitol building

Pakistan - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabia Akhtar, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lahore:
"So for me, the GSI's emphasis on dialogue is relevant to what happens between crises as well as during them. So we need communication that survives political disagreements and commitments, that gives both sides a reason to exercise restraint. We cannot simply wait for trust to appear before we start talking. We have to use dialogue to establish whether commitments can be tested and whether restraint can be reciprocated."

FILE: Tehran, Iran - Aug 24, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Israel Media/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda)
11. Traffic

FILE: Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Capitol building

A Pakistani scholar has stressed the importance of dialogue in resolving the conflict between the United States and Iran, as the two sides remain deadlocked over access to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program.

In recent months, Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, pushing diplomacy as a path to ending the conflict.

In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Rabia Akhtar, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lahore, affirmed Pakistan's role as a mediator but stressed that whether an agreement is reached and implemented ultimately rests with the two countries.

"Pakistan's role is valuable because keeping a channel open gives the parties somewhere to take those agreements. A mediator can clarify a proposal, explore a sequence of reciprocal steps, and help each side understand what the other might accept. But a mediator cannot make the commitments on their behalf. Ultimately, Washington and Tehran have to decide that an agreement serves their interests and that they are prepared to implement it," she said.

Throughout the conflict, she noted, leaders have publicly deployed strong rhetoric against the other side. Akhtar called on both parties to withdraw from such practices, as they make reaching an agreement all the more difficult.

"There's also the domestic political problem. If you have told your public that anything short of the other side's surrender will be a defeat, you have made your own diplomacy much harder. Leaders need room to explain that a negotiated outcome can protect national interest. And quiet diplomacy helps because it allows options to be explored before every proposal becomes a public test of resolve," she said.

As the need for dialogue over conflict grows, Akhtar highlighted the potential role of China's Global Security Initiative (GSI), which focuses on addressing the world's growing security challenges through cooperation, dialogue, and shared responsibility, and offers a framework for managing crises.

"So for me, the GSI's emphasis on dialogue is relevant to what happens between crises as well as during them. So we need communication that survives political disagreements and commitments, that gives both sides a reason to exercise restraint. We cannot simply wait for trust to appear before we start talking. We have to use dialogue to establish whether commitments can be tested and whether restraint can be reciprocated," the scholar said.