https://arab.news/957xt
- Mohsin Naqvi, Masoud Pezeshkian discuss bilateral cooperation in trade and security, says IRNA
- Visit takes place as tensions persist with US, Iran demanding conflict compensations from each other
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and the country’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported, amid Islamabad’s push to broker peace between the Washington and Tehran.
Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday amid tensions between the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would seek conflict compensation from Iran as part of any peace negotiations, citing attacks and killings stretching back decades allegedly backed or perpetrated by Tehran
Trump was responding to Iran’s insistence that US payment of war reparations is a pre-condition to any resolution of the ongoing hostilities. Fighting between the US and Iran, which ceased briefly in June after Pakistan brokered a peace deal between the two sides, resumed last month after Washington accused Tehran of attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Naqvi arrived in Tehran and met Pezeshkian, IRNA reported, during which the Iranian president stressed the need to deepen ties with Pakistan in all fields.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to further deepen its relations with Pakistan in all areas of interest to the two countries and to pave the way for the development of joint cooperation,” IRNA quoted Pezeshkian as saying.
The Iranian president stressed the need to utilize both nations’ existing capacities to expand economic, trade, cultural, and security cooperation, IRNA said.
“Developing bilateral relations and deepening cooperation can help ensure the mutual interests of the two nations and strengthen regional stability and security,” he was quoted as saying.
Naqvi stated that the purpose of his visit to Iran was to follow up on agreements and understandings reached during the recent visit of Iranian Interior Minister Eskander Momeni to Pakistan, the Iranian state media said.
Naqvi also met Araghchi, with IRNA stating the two sides discussed “key diplomatic issues and bilateral relations.”
The Pakistani minister also met Iranian Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad, discussing bilateral cooperation in trade and energy.
“There are various areas between the two countries in the field of petroleum and oil products trade and the export of technical and engineering services, especially in the field of refining,” Paknejad was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Naqvi, along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, has been closely involved in discussions with the Iranian leadership to end the war.
Naqvi has visited Iran multiple times in the past few months and met the country’s leadership, as Islamabad hopes to broker regional peace.
Pakistan has played a key role as mediator in the US-Iran war since it began in February. It brokered a ceasefire between the two sides in April and then hosted the first round of direct peace talks between them the same month.
Islamabad has repeatedly called for restraint by all sides and said dialogue remains the only viable path to preventing a wider regional conflict.