Iran | Pakistan

Tehran and the Afghan Taliban chief denounced on Saturday the US travel ban on the citizens of 12 mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, saying Washington’s decision was a sign of a “racist mentality”. US President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday an executive order reviving sweeping restrictions that echo his first-term travel ban, justified on national security grounds following a firebomb attack at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado. Alireza Hashemi-Raja, the foreign ministry’s director general for the affairs of Iranians abroad, called the measure, which takes effect June 9, “a clear sign of the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality among American policymakers”. The decision “indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people”, he added in a statement released by the ministry. Apart from Iran, the US ban targets nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. A partial ba...

Trump's order bars citizens from 12 countries, including Iran and Somalia, starting Monday at 12:01 a.m. EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to “help resolve” the standoff between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday. “We have a close partnership with Tehran. And President Putin said that he was ready to use this partnership to help resolve the Iranian nuclear issue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. After a call between the leaders on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said Putin had offered to “participate” in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, as Trump accused Iran of “slow-walking” its response to Washington’s offer of a deal. Washington and Tehran have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new accord to replace the nuclear deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. Trump said on Monday that his administration would not allow “any” enrichment of uranium, despite Tehran’s insistence that it has the right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier...

ISLAMABAD - The Foreign Office yesterday confirmed that two Pakistani nationals, identified as Mujahid and Mohammed Faheem, were tragically killed in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province.

US President Donald Trump said he spoke to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about Ukraine and Iran, warning that the Kremlin leader had “very strongly” pledged to respond to Kyiv’s stunning drone attack on Russian bombers. Trump said that there was no “immediate peace” on the horizon in Ukraine — which Russia invaded in 2022 — following what he described as a one-hour and 15-minute call with the Russian president. On Iran, Trump said that Putin had offered to “participate” in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, as Trump accused the Islamic republic of “slow walking” its response to Washington’s offer of a deal. The call came three days after Ukraine conducted a massive, daring drone attack against Russian military airbases, saying it had destroyed several Russian nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars. Trump said that he and Putin had “discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides”. “It was a go...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was “100 per cent” against the country’s interests, rejecting a central US demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman, which has mediated talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. After five rounds of talks, several hard-to-bridge issues remain, including Iran’s insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment on its soil and Tehran’s refusal to ship abroad its entire existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium — possible raw material for nuclear bombs. Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, said nothing about halting the talks, but said the US proposal “contradicts our nation’s belief in self-reliance and the principle of ‘We Can’”. “Uranium enrichment is the key to our nuclear programme and the enemies h...

Iran is poised to reject a US proposal to end a decades-long nuclear dispute, an Iranian diplomat said on Monday, slamming it as a “non-starter” that fails to address Tehran’s interests and leaves Washington’s stance on uranium enrichment unchanged. “Iran is drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection of the US offer,” the senior diplomat, who is close to Iran’s negotiating team, told Reuters. The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who was on a short visit to Tehran and has been mediating nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. But after five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the nuclear standoff, many issues remain unresolved. Among clashing red lines is Iran’s rejection of a US demand that Tehran commit to scrapping uranium enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to develo...

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said he had received “elements” of a US proposal for a potential nuclear deal following five rounds of talks mediated by Oman, making the remarks the same day a report by the International Atomic Energy agency (IAEA) exposed Tehran’s nuclear activity. Tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared since a 2015 deal curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief fell apart. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi “paid a short visit to Tehran today to present elements of a US proposal which will be appropriately responded to in line with the principles, national interests and rights of the people of Iran,” Araghchi said on X. Iran stepped up its production of highly enriched uranium in recent months, said a confidential report by the watchdog, seen by AFP earlier on Saturday. It said in its quarterly report that it is of “serious concern” that Iran has an estimated amount of 408.6 kilogrammes enriched to up to 60 p...

Iran on Wednesday said it may consider allowing US inspectors with the United Nations nuclear watchdog to inspect its facilities if a deal is reached with the United States. Iran has long been accused by Western powers of seeking to develop nuclear weapons — a claim Tehran has consistently denied, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful, civilian purposes. Tehran and Washington have in recent weeks held five rounds of talks aimed at the issue — their highest-level contact since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal under Donald Trump in 2018. “Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years — we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries,” Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told reporters, referring to staff from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran “will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency” if an agreement is reached and Tehran’s demands are taken into account, he added. Since returning to office in ...

ISLAMABAD - Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan, visited General Staff Headquarters, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan, visited the General Staff Headquarters in Tehran during his official tour to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

• Shehbaz, Pezeshkian agree to boost bilateral trade, investment • PM expresses gratitude for Iran’s support amid tension with Delhi • Renews offer for talks with India on Kashmir, other issues • Meets Ayatollah Khamenei ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Monday rene­wed their commitment to permanent peace in South Asia, underlining that frie­ndly relations with neighbouring countries formed a core part of both nations’ foreign policy. The reaffirmation came during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian at a reception hosted at the Sa’dabad Palace in Tehran. The meeting took place during the prime minist­er’s official visit to Tur­k­iye, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, aimed at expre­ssing gratitude to fri­endly Muslim nations for their support during the recent Pakistan-India conflict. Both leaders resolved to enhance cooperation to boost bilateral trade and investment and work together to maintain peace and security in the region. View this post on Instagram Prim...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif paid a courtesy call on His Eminence Sayyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran on Monday and discussed matters of bilateral and regional interest.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Tehran on a two-day visit to Iran.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran, which stood at $3 billion, would be taken to $10 billion in the next few years, as there was immense potential for growth.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday departed for Iran after concluding his two-day official visit to Turkiye.

Iran will not consider temporarily suspending uranium enrichment to secure a nuclear deal with the US, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, adding that no date had yet been set for a sixth round of talks with Washington. The negotiations between Washington and Tehran aim to resolve a decades-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and both sides have taken a tough stance in public over the issue of Iran’s uranium enrichment. Asked about reports that Iran could freeze enrichment for three years to reach an agreement, spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told a press conference: “Iran will never accept that.” Baghaei also ruled out the possibility of an interim nuclear deal with the US, dismissing media reports that a provisional agreement was being considered as a temporary step towards a final deal. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that US negotiators had “very good” talks with an Iranian delegation over the weekend. Iran is waiting for further details from mediator Oman regarding the timing of the...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan from 25-30 May.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would hold the United States responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities, after US media reported that Israel was preparing for a strike. The report came even as Iran and the United States were set to meet in Rome on Friday for a fifth round of Omani-mediated nuclear talks. “We believe that in the event of any attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime (Israel), the US government will also be involved and bear legal responsibility,” Araghchi said in a letter to the United Nations published on Thursday. “Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime and will respond decisively to any threat or unlawful act by this regime,” Araghchi added. On Tuesday, CNN reported that Israel was making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. The nuclear talks, which began on April 12, are the highest-level contact between the long-time foes since the United States in 2018 pulled out of a landmar...

Iran’s parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties, including closer defence cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed the strategic partnership document on January 17. The Russian legislative branch approved the pact in April. While the agreement does not include a mutual defence clause, it says both countries will work together against common military threats, develop their military-technical cooperation, and take part in joint exercises. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Iran and Russia have deepened military ties, with Western countries accusing Iran of providing missiles and drones for Russian attacks on Ukraine. Tehran denies providing weapons for Russian use in Ukraine. The strategic pact also includes several clauses aimed at boosting economic partnership, notably by strengthening direct interbank cooperation ...