ISLAMABAD: Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan on Friday called for closer bilateral cooperation to address security challenges in West Asia, praising Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran complicate attempts to revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
The envoy’s remarks came amid Pakistan’s continued efforts to facilitate dialogue between the two warring countries, as the US-Iran conflict threatens to spread across the Gulf region with major consequences for global energy markets.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged restraint and supported diplomatic efforts, helping the two sides reach an interim peace framework signed last month and guide them toward a final agreement within 60 days.
“Strengthening our bilateral cooperation is essential for addressing contemporary security challenges in West Asia,” Iran’s Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam said during a roundtable discussion in Islamabad organized by the Center for International Strategic Studies.
According to a statement released after the event, Moghadam said Pakistan had played “a constructive diplomatic role in facilitating negotiations and advancing efforts toward regional peace and stability.”
His remarks follow a series of high-level contacts between Pakistan and Iran in recent weeks, including visits to Islamabad by Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and meeting between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime
Minister Ishaq Dar and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s conference in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.
Pakistan has maintained close ties with both Iran and Gulf Arab states while urging dialogue to prevent a wider regional conflict. It has also coordinated closely with China, which has publicly backed Pakistan’s mediation efforts and called for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
Other speakers at the event noted Pakistan’s relations with regional and international stakeholders positioned it to support dialogue, confidence-building measures and de-escalation.
They also warned that prolonged instability in West Asia could have far-reaching implications for maritime security, global energy markets and regional trade, particularly given the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz.
