ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will meet United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his official visit to Washington this week, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Thursday, saying the talks would focus on Middle East developments and Islamabad’s peace efforts.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between the US and Iran since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late Feb., hosting the two sides for their rare, direct talks in Islamabad in April.
Islamabad has repeatedly called for dialogue and de-escalation in the conflict that has disrupted global cargo and energy supplies and threatened regional economies, amid Tehran’s attacks on Gulf countries.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said that Dar, after concluding his meetings in New York will leave for Washington D.C. on Friday, where he will hold a meeting with Rubio to discuss regional and global developments.
“The discussions will also focus on strengthening cooperation in key priority sectors as well as Pakistan’s efforts to promote regional peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy,” the foreign ministry said, adding that Dar will leave for Islamabad the same day after completing his engagements in Washington.
Dar’s visit comes at a time of renewed tensions between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, which have threatened their tenuous ceasefire that took effect on April 8 and dampened hopes for a peace deal.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday they had targeted a US base in response to what it described as an early morning US attack near Bandar Abbas airport, Tasnim news agency reported. The IRGC said they targeted the US air base from which the attack on the control station near Bandar Abbas was launched.
Kuwait, which hosts a large US base, said it was responding to missile and drone attacks without saying where the attacks were coming from.
The war has killed thousands and sent global energy prices sharply higher since it began on Feb. 28.
At a cabinet meeting attended by media on Wednesday, Trump dismissed an Iranian state TV report that it had obtained an unofficial draft of an agreement to restore commercial shipping through the strait to prewar levels within a month, with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic.
The Iranian TV report of a framework deal said the United States would also lift its blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw military forces from Iran’s vicinity.
The report said the draft deal would also have the US withdraw military forces from the immediate vicinity, though it said the issue of US troops in the region needed further discussion. The White House dismissed the report as a “complete fabrication.” Tehran did not comment.
With its close ties to Iran, the Gulf states and the US, Pakistan has positioned itself as the chief mediator in the US-Iran conflict. Pakistani officials have also consulted Riyadh, Beijing, Doha and other world capitals and sought their support in mediating between the US and Iran.
Dar, who is also Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, this week spoke at a UN Security Council debate on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security.” Convened by China on Tuesday, the meeting discussed the UN Charter’s principles and how to use it to resolve conflicts. He also met Pakistani community in New York, where he highlighted improvement in Pakistan’s economic indicators and urged them to invest in their home country.
