By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD – As the world awaits high-stakes peace negotiations between the United States and Iran in Pakistan's capital, a veteran Pakistani diplomat has weighed in on one of the most critical and unanswered questions of the emerging agreement: who will guarantee that any deal actually holds?

Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations and the United States, told Geo News TV  that the United Nations Security Council should serve as the guarantor for Iran through a formal resolution. Under such an arrangement, if any party violates the agreement in the future, it would face international sanctions.

"The UN Security Council is the best guarantor through a resolution," Lodhi said. "If any party violates the agreement tomorrow, it will face sanctions."

Her remarks come at a pivotal moment. US and Iranian delegations are expected to begin direct talks in Islamabad on Saturday, aiming to transform a fragile two-week ceasefire into a permanent peace agreement. But deep mistrust between Washington and Tehran remains the single greatest obstacle to a lasting settlement.

For Iran, the question of guarantees is not academic. Tehran has repeatedly stated that it will not agree to any deal unless there are credible assurances that the United States will not resume military attacks or reimpose sanctions after an agreement is signed.

Iranian officials have pointed to a painful history: the 2015 nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), which was negotiated over years of painstaking diplomacy, was unilaterally abandoned by the United States in 2018 under President Donald Trump. The Trump administration reimposed sweeping sanctions, and Iran responded by rolling back its compliance with the deal's limits.

That experience has left a deep scar on Iran's political establishment. Tehran fears that any new agreement could suffer the same fate-- torn up by a future US administration or violated through back channels, including continued Israeli military action.

Iran has already made clear what kind of guarantee it seeks. On Wednesday, Iran's ambassador to China, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, told reporters in Beijing that Tehran wants a multi-layered security guarantee mechanism.

"We hope different sides could guarantee that the US would not resume the war; we hope the UN Security Council, big countries like China and Russia, as well as mediating countries like Pakistan and Turkey, will work together to guarantee peace in the region," Fazli said.

The ambassador also suggested that Iran would like China and Russia to serve as specific guarantors against the US resuming hostilities after a ceasefire. "We hope China and Russia will guarantee against the US resuming war after the ceasefire," he added.

When asked about this request, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded cautiously: "We hope parties can properly settle disputes through dialogue and negotiation. China will maintain communication with all parties and continue to work for de-escalation and put an end to the conflict."

- The 10-Point Plan and the Guarantee Question

Iran's 10-point peace proposal, which has been incorporated into the current ceasefire agreement, includes a specific demand for "a formal guarantee against future military attacks on Iranian territory". The proposal also calls for a permanent end to hostilities rather than a temporary suspension, a cessation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, the lifting of US sanctions, and a halt to regional fighting involving Iranian allies.

In return, Iran has committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, establishing a codified framework for safe maritime passage, and splitting transit fees with Oman.

But the guarantee question remains unresolved. Iran's ambassador to China made clear that the reopening of the strait will depend on the results of the talks. "Iran will take measures to reduce the pressure and let ships pass through, but whether the Strait of Hormuz can be opened entirely will have to wait for the results of the negotiations," Fazli said.

Dr. Lodhi's proposal -- a UN Security Council resolution -- would carry significant weight. Such a resolution would be legally binding on all UN member states. It could include provisions for monitoring compliance, mechanisms for dispute resolution, and -- crucially -- automatic sanctions against any party found to be violating the agreement.

A UN-backed framework would also address Iran's concern about US domestic politics. While a future US president could theoretically withdraw from an executive agreement (as Trump did with the JCPOA), violating a binding UN Security Council resolution would carry far more serious international legal and diplomatic consequences.

However, securing such a resolution would require the support of the Security Council's five permanent members -- the United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom. Given the current state of US-China and US-Russia relations, that is far from guaranteed.