Pakistan - Iran News / Discussion

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The invitations came roughly 36 hours after US President Donald Trump announced he had canceled imminent strikes against Iran. Trump said allies had urged him to hold off because a deal appeared imminent.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump and persuaded him to call off the planned military action. Trump had also named UAE and Qatar as among the countries that had asked him to cancel the planned strikes.

Iran has been holding talks with Oman about the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities say they are close to an agreement but have not indicated whether the waterway would reopen or remain closed.

Pakistan has been relatively quiet on the mediation front compared with earlier efforts that produced the Islamabad MoU. It has, however, remained engaged through back channels with Iran and, together with Qatar, proposed a ceasefire plan during a nearly 13-day period of escalation.

 

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Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday insisted that Pakistan is the main mediator with US. Spokesman Esmail Baqaei said: “The mediator in the discussions related to Iran and the US is Pakistan, and Qatar also helps in cases where necessary. To say that we have added a new mediator to the existing mediators is not, in the strict sense of the word, the case.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump accused Iran’s leadership of being “unbelievably duplicitous” after Tehran denied that any negotiations were underway with the US. The exchange renewed threats from Trump, who warned Iran faced “decapitation” and said he would keep up military pressure until there was a “deal, or total surrender”.

“I think we’re going to maybe get something, but I want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” Trump said, reiterating his threat to launch a major attack on Iran.

The war of words follows a familiar pattern in the five-month conflict between Washington and Tehran.

 

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The JTC will review progress on existing initiatives and push forward on:

• Pakistan-Iran Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
• Cross-border trade facilitation
• Customs & banking cooperation
• Transport and transit connectivity
• Expanded investment and commercial collaboration

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Islamabad, Tehran agree to open borders ‘round-the-clock’​

August 6, 2026
Zulfiqar Ahmad
B Recorder



ISLAMABAD: Seeking to give fresh impetus to economic ties, Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday agreed to expand border trade and take measures to keep crossing points open round the clock, as the two neighbours moved to remove hurdles in cross-border commerce.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a six-member Iranian delegation led by Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Seyed Mohammad Atabak, with both sides focusing on removing hurdles to cross-border commerce and strengthening economic cooperation.

The two countries agreed to enhance facilities at border points, improve logistics arrangements and strengthen coordination between customs authorities to make trade flows smoother and more efficient.

They also decided to broaden cooperation in the mining sector, particularly in the processing and value addition of precious stones, an area seen as having significant potential for economic collaboration.

 

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Iran says ties with Pakistan ‘even more important than before’​

Says no reason to fear Pakistan-Turkiye-Saudi security pact

Reuters/Anadolu Agency/Web Desk
August 10, 2026

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Switzerland. Photo: AFP

Iran said on Monday that bilateral ties between Islamabad and Tehran have become “even more important than before” since the war began, with Pakistan serving as the key mediator.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were invited by Pakistan to visit Islamabad for talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Araghchi and Ghalibaf will visit "at an appropriate time," he said in statements carried by Iran's state-run Press TV. He did not provide further details as to when the visit will take place.

"Reciprocal visits and exchanges are a natural part of the growing ties between the two neighbouring countries. The relationship between Iran and Pakistan is a very important one,” he added.

Baghaei further said that he sees no reason to be concerned that a new security pact between Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia is "directed against Tehran".

According to Al Jazeera, he stated that the regional military alliance reflected growing awareness that the US cannot guarantee security and is itself a source of insecurity in the Middle East.

 

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Dar shares 'contours, key aspects' of Makkah defence pact with Iran's FM Araghchi​

FM Araghchi thanks Dar for sharing the key aspects of the agreement

Web Desk
August 10, 2026

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared details of the key aspects of the recently signed Makkah defence agreement with his Iranian counterpart on Monday.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday, establishing a framework for collective security and defence cooperation under which an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all.

The pact was built on a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025, which contained a similar mutual-defence commitment.

Iran has cautiously welcomed the agreement.

In a post on X today, the Foreign Office (FO) said FM Dar spoke with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi.

"They exchanged views on regional and international developments, with particular focus on the evolving situation in the region and efforts to promote peace and stability," it said, adding that the former also "shared the contours" of the Makkah pact.

FM Dar underscored its "objectives of strengthening strategic cooperation and contributing to regional peace and security", with FM Araghchi thanking him for sharing the key aspects of the agreement.

"Both ministers agreed to remain in close contact on matters of mutual interest."

 

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Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi heads to Tehran for talks amid Iran-US mediation efforts​

Qatar says Iran-Oman Hormuz talks reached ‘advanced stage,’ urges reopening

Anadolu Agency/Reuters/Web Desk
August 11, 2026

Pakistan's interior minister with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. PHOTO: ANADOLU

Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi headed to Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iranian officials amid mediation efforts to end the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US.

Iran’s official news agency IRNA, citing a diplomatic source, said Naqvi departed Islamabad for the Iranian capital early Tuesday for talks on bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest.

 

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Qatar says Iran-Oman Hormuz talks reached ‘advanced stage,’ urges reopening

Qatar said on Tuesday that negotiations between Iran and Oman on arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz have reached “an advanced stage,” expressing hope the strategic waterway will reopen “as soon as possible.”

Speaking at a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the talks were at a “critical juncture” and stressed that Doha supports all efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.

“As mediators, we want the Strait of Hormuz reopened as soon as possible,” Ansari said.

He said Qatar was closely following the negotiations and remained supportive of diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement.

Iran and Oman have been negotiating legal and technical arrangements for navigation through the strait after maritime traffic was disrupted following the military conflict between Iran and the US. Tehran has said implementation of any reopening is linked to resolving disputes over what it describes as US violations of the June memorandum of understanding

 

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US ‘begged' Iran for negotiations, says FM Araghchi

The Iranian foreign minister, speaking at a televised news conference on Iranian state television, said that the US “begged” Iran to negotiate, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

He recalled that US President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Iran at the beginning of the war.

“The US President wrote two words [on social media] at the beginning of the war: ‘Unconditional surrender’,” he said.

“That was what they wanted from us and, 20 days later, the same enemy was begging for negotiations,” the top diplomat added.

In the same press conference, Araghchi also said that Iran showed the world that it is “a tough and invincible power,” Al Jazeera reported.

Speaking at a televised press conference, he said: “I have heard this many times from foreign ministers and officials from other countries: ‘You Iranians created a miracle; you surprised the whole world.’”

“No one thought that Iran could resist America like this,” Araghchi said, adding that the US had the backing of Israel, the Western world and some other countries.

Abbas Araghchi and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul held a phone conversation earlier on Monday, where Araghchi said that insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz was solely the result of military aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, according to IRNA.

 

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