Iran | Pakistan

Washington still committed to finding resolution with Iran, 'technical talks continue', according to US official

Braving sweltering heat and calling for revenge, Iranians massed on Thursday for the burial of assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad. An Israeli strike assassinated Khamenei in late February on the first day of the Middle East war. Thousands of people filled the streets of the eastern city of Mashhad, home to one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam. Footage posted by IRNA showed the procession en route to the Shrine of Imam Reza, where the assassinated leader will be buried. With new hostilities breaking out with the United States even after an accord last month to end the war, at least one fighter jet escorted the plane carrying the late Iranian leader’s coffin to Mashhad. State TV reported that a helicopter would transport the body across the final stretch to the shrine because the main avenue was expected to be crammed with people. The burial will be the final act in a marathon six days of funeral ceremonies, which have allowed people to pay tribute in Tehran, the clerical hub ...

The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The latest round of attacks, which the US said was carried out in response to Tuesday’s assault on three cargo ships transiting the strait, came hours after US President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be “over”. US forces said the latest attacks against Iran were aimed at “their ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, citing recent strikes against commerical ships the waterway. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The US strikes rattled several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some areas without power. The US Central Command said later they had struck approximately 90 military targets. Iran responded with a second day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US mili...

The burial ‌in Mashhad in northeast Iran follows a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies

The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The latest round of attacks, which the US said was carried out in response to Tuesday’s assault on three cargo ships transiting the strait, came hours after US President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be “over”. US forces said the latest attacks against Iran were aimed at “their ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, citing recent strikes against commerical ships the waterway. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The US strikes rattled several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some areas without power. The US Central Command said later they had struck approximately 90 military targets. Iran responded with a second day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US mili...

Pakistan on Wednesday expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East and called on the US and Iran to exercise restraint following mutual overnight strikes. Efforts to end the Middle East war have suffered a setback following an escalation of hostilities after Iranian attacks on ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran struck at least three ships in recent days, prompting extensive US strikes on Iranian targets on Tuesday, followed by retaliatory attacks by Iran on Gulf countries. In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) noted that “a renewed conflict is in no one’s interest”. “Pakistan calls on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from any actions that may further undermine regional peace and stability. There is no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy to achieve [a] shared goal of peace in the region,” the statement added. “Pakistan urges all sides to uphold their respective commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which remain...

President Donald Trump said the United States would hit Iran “hard” on Wednesday as he deemed their ceasefire over after fighting flared, but he left the door open to more talks. Efforts to end the Middle East war have taken a hit following the fighting sparked by Iranian attacks on ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz. The strategic shipping route remains a flashpoint in the conflict, which began in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran insists on controlling the waterway, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route. Its military struck at least three ships in recent days, prompting extensive US strikes against Iranian targets on Tuesday followed by retaliatory attacks from Iran on Gulf countries. “We’re gonna hit ’em hard tonight,” Trump said at a Nato summit in Ankara in reference to Iran, adding: “They violate the agreement every day.” When asked if the truce was intact, he had said earlier on Wednesday that “as far as...

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index tumbled by over 4,600 points on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “over”. The KSE-100 index dropped by 4,626.19 points, or 2.48 per cent, to close at 181,629.36 points from the previous close of 186,255.55. The market saw a sharp decline after 1:30pm, reaching an intraday low of 179,504.34, down by 6,751.21 points compared to the previous close. The decline followed Trump’s statement that the Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding to end the war with Iran was “over”. Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, noted that investor sentiment weakened following Trump’s comments, reigniting concerns over potential disruptions to oil supplies from the Middle East. He added that the market opened on a negative note amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty after US airstrikes on Iran in response to attacks on vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then said it hit dozens of US military fa...

Trump says MoU signed with Iran to end conflict is 'over', adding he doesn't want to engage with Tehran

Oil prices gained more than 2 per cent on Wednesday after the US military launched airstrikes against Iran and reimposed crude sales sanctions, raising fears their fragile truce was unravelling and Middle East supplies could be disrupted again. Brent crude futures gained $1.92, or 2.6pc, at $76.08 a barrel at 0400 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.82, or 2.6pc, to $72.26 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose about 3pc on Tuesday after the US revoked the general licence authorising the sale of Iranian crude following the Iranian attacks. “While the revocation doesn’t fundamentally change oil market dynamics, it’s important from a sentiment perspective. It heightens the risk of a breakdown in the temporary deal between the US and Iran,” ING commodity strategists said on Wednesday. The US airstrikes were in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said on Tuesday. “The current conflagration is a reminder to the market of how fra...

ISLAMABAD - Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam, yesterday expressed profound gratitude to the government and people of Pakistan for sending what he described as the highest-level and largest foreign delegation to participate in the ceremony held in Iran to pay homage to the martyred Supreme Leader of Iran, Shahid.

Vast crowds of Iranians massed in Tehran on Saturday to begin almost a week of funeral ceremonies for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on the first day of the Middle East conflict — an event intended to send a message of defiance to the West after the US-Iran war. Clad in black and waving blood-red flags seen as a call for vengeance and justice, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran, AFP correspondents said. Authorities believe the ceremonies will mobilise more than 10 million people in the capital alone for tributes to the man who ran the country for three-and-a-half decades. Six days of funeral ceremonies are planned to commemorate Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic republic as its number one from 1989 until his assassination aged 86 on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28. AFP photographs showed the coffins of Khamenei and four other family members at the front on a dais. There was still no sign of Khamenei’s so...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed from Islamabad on a one-day official visit to Iran to attend the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Iran and Turkiye from July 3 to July 5, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed on Thursday. Addressing a weekly briefing, Andrabi said that during his visit to Iran, the premier would participate in the funeral of late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes on February 28. The FO spokesperson said PM Shehbaz will travel to Iran first for Khamenei’s funeral. Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, cabinet members and senior officials will accompany the premier on his visit. “The prime minister will convey condolences on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved families while reaffirming solidarity with the brotherly nation in their hour of profound grief,” he said. PM Shehbaz will then visit Istanbul at the invitation of Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Andrabi said. He added that the premier will “hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral re...

ISLAMABAD: Shehbaz Sharif will embark on official visits to Iran and Türkiye beginning Friday, according to an official statement.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States is “getting along well” with Iran, as the two countries began indirect talks via mediators in Doha on Wednesday, in a bid to advance negotiations and ease tensions following exchanges of fire between the two sides. “The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well,” Trump told reporters before leaving for a trip. “They’ve had very good meetings, and we’ll see.” He added that Tehran had “come a long way” in negotiations with Washington. “We hit them very hard last week. I think they’re fine,” he said. “It’s the denuclearisation of Iran, it’s very simple, and Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” Both the US and Iran said they would send officials to discuss the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the Middle East war, but Iran insisted direct negotiations would not take place. A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed negotiations were underway, after earlier saying the foes woul...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has held a series of meetings with senior national security officials to review US policy towards Iran, including whether Washington should continue negotiations with Tehran or resume broader military strikes, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump has been briefed on options for a possible return to broader military confrontation with Iran but has, for now, chosen to continue diplomatic negotiations, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal citing US officials familiar with internal deliberations. The Journal said the discussions involved Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, as officials assessed whether the United States should abandon talks with Tehran and resume full-scale military strikes. Some officials involved in the deliberations reportedly described the harder option internally as “finishing the job”. While the deliberations reflect renewed debate within the administration over escalation, the report said Trump ha...

ISLAMABAD: As part of Pakistan’s efforts to help broker an end to the war in the Middle East, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will pay official visits to Iran and Turkiye from July 3 to 6, sources in the PM Office told Dawn on Monday. The US military said it carried out new strikes on early Sunday on multiple targets in Iran, in response to a fresh Iranian attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran responded by launching strikes against US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait before both sides agreed to halt attacks. Sources said that during his visit, the prime minister will meet the leadership of both Iran and Turkiye and call on Tehran and Washington to exercise restraint, particularly following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of the peace process. The strikes underscored the fragility of the Pakistan-brokered interim peace deal aimed at ending a war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, which disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and r...

Iran and the United States agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks regarding their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said on Sunday, raising hopes of saving an interim peace deal that was under pressure from days of tit-for-tat strikes. The exchanges have underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered agreement to end the conflict that has killed thousands and snarled the flow of oil shipments through the vital Strait of Hormuz. “Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the memorandum of understanding (MoU). Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely,” the official said, referring to the 14-point agreement that was signed on June 18 under which the strait would be reopened for traffic. Iran has not immediately commented on the US statement. Axios, which first reported the cessation of hostilities, citing a senior US official, said talks would resume on Tuesday in Qatar. A return to diplomacy would follow several days of strikes and count...

LAHORE: Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Sunday said that Pakistan was “considering” purchasing cheaper Iranian oil and gas. The option of sourcing Iranian crude oil supplies has again become available to Pakistan after a temporary easing of US sanctions on Tehran. By availing this opportunity, Pakistan could source discounted crude and refine it locally to produce higher-value petroleum products. Sourcing crude oil from Iran could generate import cost savings of $170-340 million for Pakistan, assuming it imports 10-20 per cent of its total petroleum requirement at a discount, including freight savings. But, while industry experts say local refineries are technically capable of processing Iranian crude, commercial and operational challenges remain, particularly due to the high furnace oil yield and the absence of significant domestic demand for the fuel. Against this backdrop, Malik said while speaking to the media in Lahore that Pakistan was now mulling sourcing cheaper crude oil from Iran. He added t...