Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir have discussed ways to revive diplomatic efforts to de-escalate conflicts across the region, including a possible return to US-Iran negotiations.
Their talks focused on the US-Iran war, prospects for returning to negotiations and recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, sources told Reuters.
The discussions came days after Pakistan delivered a warning to Tehran to restrain the Iran-backed Houthis as the Yemeni group escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia. Pakistan has a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey that considers an attack on one country as an attack on all three.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Islamabad is pursuing a diplomatic solution, but has warned that “unprovoked aggression or spillover … into Saudi Arabia will definitely make this agreement operational”.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its condemnation of the “reprehensible” Houthi attacks and reaffirmed its “unwavering support” for Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.
An Iranian official confirmed that Pakistan had delivered Saudi Arabia’s message but said Tehran “does not control the Houthis”. Two Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran had instructed the Houthis last week to attack Saudi Arabia and had promised the group additional funding and weapons.
The latest discussions also come as Islamabad presses the US and Iran to return to negotiations after the collapse of a memorandum of understanding brokered by Pakistan and Qatar this year.
“There is this lingering lack of trust on both sides,” Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, told The National when asked why the agreement had not been implemented. “There is also a slight lack of willingness to go ahead with implementation of this MoU, but we are persisting.”
According to the Financial Times, several Gulf foreign ministers are planning to meet Mr Araghchi in Salalah, Oman, on Monday. The National could not confirm the meeting from other sources.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said its navy struck a US “Saildrone-type” unmanned vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it has “thwarted its aggressive mission”. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre has said it received a report that projectiles struck two vessels off the coast of Oman.
The incidents come amid heightened tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where attacks on shipping and military activity have intensified in recent days.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran had started producing ballistic missiles again, assembling them in underground sites across Iran. Quoting US and Middle East officials, the WSJ said Iran had been assembling liquid-propelled missiles using stockpiled parts, as well as solid-propellant missiles.
