By MUNIR AHMED, ABBY SEWELL, SAMY MAGDY and E. EDUARDO CASTILLO
ISLAMABAD (AP) — As the U.S. and Iran exchanged escalating strikes on June 11, a plane carrying Qatari mediators was stranded on the tarmac in Tehran.
They had been engaged in intensive talks through the night, attempting to halt what appeared to be a spiral back into all-out war, a diplomat briefed on the talks said.
The scene on the runway encapsulated the tumultuous diplomatic process, led by Pakistan and Qatar, that led to last week’s deal to end a war that destabilized the Middle East and damaged the world economy.
It was one of several moments in which social media threats or actual hostilities threatened to reignite the war. Negotiations on implementing the deal face similar challenges, including violence in Lebanon and threats over the Strait of Hormuz.
This account of the behind-the-scenes diplomacy leading…
