ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is set to arrive in Tehran on Saturday, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported, as regional tensions rise following fresh attacks exchanged between the US and Iran.
The US military said on Saturday that it shot down Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and its allies on Friday, while striking some of Iran’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response. Iran’s navy said on Friday it had fired warning missiles and drones at US warships in the Gulf of Oman.
Meanwhile, Bahrain said on Saturday that together with Kuwait, both Gulf states intercepted seven missiles fired by Iran.
“Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi is due to arrive in Tehran on Saturday, an informed diplomatic source told IRNA,” the Iranian state broadcaster reported.
Naqvi held two meetings with his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) interior ministers’ meeting in Kyrgyzstan this week.
IRNA cited a source close to Naqvi as saying that he returned to Lahore from Bishkek after the SCO meeting and was scheduled to depart for Tehran from there.
The latest flare-up threatens to undermine a shaky ceasefire between Washington and Tehran that has largely held since April. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei recently said the US and Iran are in the final stages of drafting a memorandum of understanding focused on ending the conflict.
Pakistan has acted as the chief mediator between the US and Iran in the ongoing Middle East conflict since February. Islamabad hosted the first round of talks between both sides in April this year, which failed to achieve a breakthrough.
Islamabad has remained in contact with the leadership of both countries, relaying messages and exchanging peace proposals. Naqvi and Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir have both visited Tehran recently to hold meetings with the Iranian leadership in recent weeks as Islamabad pushes for regional peace.
