Iran | Pakistan

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of direct involvement in military operations against his country during a Brics meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, Iranian state media reported. The spat comes a day after the UAE denied a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he visited the Gulf country during the Iran war, to which Araghchi already reacted by saying that “those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account”. “I didn’t name the UAE in my [Brics] statement for the sake of unity. But the truth is that the UAE was directly involved in the aggression against my country. When the attacks started, they didn’t even issue a condemnation,” state media quoted Araghchi as saying on Thursday, in response to comments made by the Emirati representative. Iranian state media did not specify what the Emirati representative said. According to the reports, Araghchi argued that neither US bases nor an alliance with Israel provided the UAE with secu...

Ship reported seized off UAE, steered towards Iran

Islamabad - Pakistan’s Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal met with Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation, particularly in the health sector on Tuesday.

Iran’s leadership is betting it can outlast an under-pressure Donald Trump in its peace negotiations with Washington, but its defiance risks renewed military confrontation, analysts say. With a shaky ceasefire holding, almost two-and-a-half months after the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic began, the US president has angrily dismissed Iran’s responses to an American proposal for a settlement, warning the truce is on its last legs. But analysts say that even after the assassination of long-time supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, Iran’s leadership remains fiercely ideological and dedicated to the preservation of the Islamic republic set up in the 1979 revolution that ousted the shah. The Iran flag flutters from a tall flagpole over high-rise buildings in northern Tehran on May 12, 2026. — AFP “They do think they can outlast Trump. The war is existential for them,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Chatham House think tank in Lon...

Iran on Monday asserted that it made “legitimate” demands in its latest formal response to the United States’ peace proposal, after US President Donald Trump rejected the reply as “totally unacceptable”. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had called for an end to the war across the region, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, and the release of frozen assets abroad in its response. “We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” said Baqaei in a weekly press briefing. He said Iran’s demands included “an end to the war in the region”, lifting the US blockade and “piracy”, and the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks”. “Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security.” Baqaei said Washington continued to uphold ...

As fears of renewed conflict hang over Iran, conservationists are shoring up battered historic sites and taking stock of the damage caused by the war with the United States and Israel, though experts warn some repairs could take years. At Golestan Palace, a defining cultural landmark in central Tehran, shattered mirrors, broken doors and debris from ornate ceilings now lie scattered across parts of the site after shockwaves from strikes on the capital following the outbreak of war on February 28. The former royal residence, known for its sprawling gardens, pools and royal halls, has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage site since 2013. The fragile truce in place since April 8 has allowed experts to begin gauging the scale of the damage, though the complex remains closed to the public. Visitors walk through the damaged interiors of the historic Golestan Palace in Tehran on April 4, 2026. — AFP/File “The damage has been assessed at several levels, but a more detailed specialised evaluation is still underway,”...

• Questions seriousness of American diplomacy amid naval flare-ups • CIA report claims Tehran can withstand blockade for months • Bahrain arrests over 40 ‘pro-IRGC’ individuals • UK deploys warship to Mideast with eye on potential Hormuz mission • Israel continues strikes in Lebanon, targets highway south of Beirut TEHRAN / WASHINGTON / BEIRUT: Iran questioned the seriousness of American diplomacy on Saturday in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, while keeping Washington waiting for a response to its latest negotiating position. A state of relative calm prevailed around the Strait of Hormuz, after days of sporadic flare-ups, as the United States waited for Iran’s response to its latest proposals to end more than two months of fighting and begin peace talks. US President Donald Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal for a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight”. But if Iran did send Pakistani mediators a re...

President Asif Ali Zardari asked Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Iran to work towards further strengthening bilateral relations, with particular focus on trade, people-to-people contacts, and facilitation of Pakistani Zaireen visiting Iran.

The United States and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long ceasefire, but Iran said the situation returned to normal while the US said it did not want to escalate. The renewed hostilities broke out as Washington was awaiting Iran’s response to a US proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now. Iran’s military said the US targeted two ships entering the Strait of Hormuz and carried out strikes on Iranian territory. The US military said it fired in response to Iranian attacks. Trump told reporters the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange. “They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said, while inspecting renovations to the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool in Washington. Meanwhile, Iran’s top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on ...

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that Islamabad was hopeful about and would expect an agreement between the US and Iran “sooner rather than later”. He said this during a weekly briefing, where he was asked how soon the agreement could be expected. “You have asked us how soon we can expect an agreement. We remain optimistic. A simple answer would be that we expect an agreement sooner rather than later. We hope that the parties will come to a peaceful, sustainable solution and bring peace, not just to our region but internationally as well,” he said. In this regard, Andrabi also said Pakistan would welcome a settlement between Iran and the US wherever it may be reached. “If an agreement is reached in Pakistan, it would be an honour for us,” he said. The FO spokesperson also said he could not say whether the draft of the agreement would be one page or longer. Asked whether the US government could be under pressure to end the war due to the upcoming mid-term elections, Andrabi said:...

WASHINGTON: After weeks of military escalation, economic pressure and threats of a wider regional conflict, the Trump administration now appears to be searching for a diplomatic exit from its confrontation with Iran, even as officials in Washington insist the United States still holds the upper hand. President Donald Trump’s decision this week to pause a planned naval operation aimed at escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz has triggered debate over whether Washington is moving toward a negotiated settlement or simply recalibrating pressure before renewed escalation. The debate has been further intensified by Trump’s assertion that a peace deal with Iran is now likely — a claim that contrasts with the uncertainty still surrounding core disputes over nuclear capability, sanctions and maritime security. Analysts say the latest shift reflects a familiar pattern in US-Iran relations: escalation followed by partial de-escalation, without a clear end state. One of the most prominent voices analy...

World awaits Iran response to peace deal

Pakistan and Iran held talks on bilateral relations, railway connectivity, and the overall regional situation during a meeting between Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi and Iranian Ambassador Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam.

• Trump says Iran deal 'very possible', but threatens strikes if not • PM Shehbaz sounds optimistic • Tehran yet

The United States is “not looking for a fight” over the Strait of Hormuz, and its ceasefire with Iran still holds, but any attack on commercial shipping will be met with a “devastating” response, the Pentagon chief said on Tuesday. The warning from Pete Hegseth came on the second day of a US effort, dubbed ‘Project Freedom’, to facilitate the transit of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed in response to the US-Israeli war on the Islamic republic. “We’re not looking for a fight. But Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway,” Hegseth told reporters. “If you attack American troops or innocent commercial shipping, you will face overwhelming and devastating American firepower.” US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine addresses reporters at the Pentagon on May 5, 2026. — AFP The Pentagon chief added that Washington is promising security for commercial vessels with a “red, white and blue dome” over the Strai...

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that war is not the answer to rising tensions in the region, stressing that diplomacy remains the only viable path to peace between Iran and the United States.

WASHINGTON: Public opinion within parts of the American-Jewish community on the US-led war against Iran has shown a noticeable shift, with support easing and opposition rising over time, according to a recent survey. While different polls focus on different segments of the community, both point to growing reservations about the campaign as it has progressed. The Jewish People Policy Institute’s “Voice of the Jewish People Index” survey, which tracks attitudes among a more connected segment of American Jews engaged with organised communal life, records a steady decline in support over the course of the conflict. Backing fell from 68 per cent in the war’s first week to 62pc in the third week, and further to 60pc in the week following the ceasefire, while opposition rose from 26pc to 34pc over the same period, the survey shows. A separate nationwide survey conducted by GBAO Strategies for the advocacy group J Street, which reflects a broader sample of American Jewish voters, suggests that scepticism is even more...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that his representatives were having “very positive discussions” with Iran that could “lead to something very positive for all”. He made these remarks in a Truth Social Post, also announcing an initiative to guide vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz out of the waterway, hours after Tehran said on Sunday that the United States had responded to its 14-point proposal via Pakistan. Iranian state media quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying that Tehran was reviewing the response. Later, US Special Envoy on Middle East Steve Witkoff told CNN the US was “in conversation” with Iran as they weighed negotiations to end the war. This was followed by Trump’s post on Truth Social, where he said: “I am fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all.” He also said that countries from across the world, “almost all of which are not involved in the Mid...

WASHINGTON: A man stands atop the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Saturday to protest the US-Israeli war on Iran. Guido Reichstadter climbed the bridge in Washington on May Day, stayed there overnight, and posted a sunrise photo from one of the bridge’s arches while calling for an end to the war on Iran. Speaking to the media from atop the 51-metre structure, the 45-year-old father of two called for peaceful means to build pressure on the authorities to end what he described as an ‘illegal war’.—Reuters • Iranian military warns renewed hostilities with Washington ‘likely’ • Trump boasts of Hormuz blockade, says ‘we are like pirates’ • Tehran reaches out to Qatar, South Korea to discuss ongoing negotiations • Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill over 12 people, injure dozens; Lebanese army chief meets US general TEHRAN/BEIRUT: Amid a surge in deadly strikes by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and little headway in talks between the US and Iran, an Iranian military official warned against the ‘likely’ resump...

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that Pakistan remained actively engaged with Iran and the United States to “achieve a resolution” of the conflict between the two sides. “As such, the status of talks now is that we remain actively engaged with both sides to achieve a resolution of this issue. The clock on diplomacy has not stopped. We remain hopeful of a negotiated settlement of this issue, and we will continue our sincere efforts for the cause of peace and prosperity in the region and beyond,” he said during a weekly FO briefing. The conflict, which is now almost two months old, began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. And while hostilities have paused following a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire on April 8 — which has now been extended indefinitely by US President Donald Trump — the world continues to face its consequences. It has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply used to pass in peacetime, re...