Iranian | Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif apprised Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian of Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach efforts to organise peace talks between Washington and Tehran, in a phone call on Saturday that lasted over an hour. Pakistan has taken centre-stage in a process to mediate between the US and Iran, being carried out in collaboration with Ankara and Cairo. A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that the premier held a phone conversation with Pezeshkian earlier today. “During their detailed conversation, that lasted over one hour, the two leaders held extensive discussions regarding the ongoing hostilities in the region and peace efforts,” the statement said. The prime minister apprised the Iranian president of the diplomatic outreach efforts currently being undertaken by himself, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir to engage the US, Gulf and Islamic countries to “create a conducive ...

Iran’s men’s national football team wore black armbands and held schoolbags as their ‌anthem played ahead of a match in Turkey on Friday, in what a team official said was a protest over the killing of schoolgirls on the first day of the Iran war. Iran were playing a friendly against Nigeria in the Mediterranean ​resort town of Belek ahead of the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada, ​at which their participation is in doubt due to the conflict. Iran players line up before the match as school bags are laid in memory of the victims of the girls school bombing in Minab, Iran, March 27, 2026. — Reuters The men lined up ⁠holding pink and purple bags with ribbons on them — a reference to the attack on the ​Shajareh Tayyebeh School that Tehran says killed more than 175 people, including children and teachers, on the ​first day of joint US-Israeli strikes on the country. Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, a vice president of the Iranian football federation, told Reuters that the players had decided to stage the protest as a symb...

Pakistan delivered a proposal from the United States to Iran, and either Pakistan or Turkiye could be venues for discussions to de-escalate the war in the Gulf, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday. The comments, by an official speaking on condition of anonymity, were among the few signs that Tehran was willing to consider diplomatic proposals, despite having denied in public that it would negotiate with the administration of US President Donald Trump. However, later in the day, it emerged that Tehran had “responded negatively” to the US proposal and outlined five conditions under which Tehran would agree to end the ongoing conflict. The Iranian source that spoke to Reuters did not disclose details of the proposal passed on by Pakistan, or whether it was the same as a 15-point US proposal that has been reported by news outlets. The source said “either Turkiye or Pakistan was under consideration as the venue for such talks”. A source familiar with the matter had confirmed on Tuesday to Reuters t...

Three Indian refining sources say they will buy Iranian oil, awaiting govt directions and clarity from Washington

LAHORE: The Airport Traffic Controllers of Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) have reportedly prevented around 30 passenger aircraft from entering the Iranian war zone. “Owing to severe weather conditions, several aircraft were on the verge of drifting into Iranian war-zone airspace on Wednesday and Thursday. Timely guidance from the air traffic controllers, particularly coordination with the Karachi Flight Information Region, helped avert a major disaster,” an official source in the Airport Traffic Controllers here said. “Most of the aircraft came under the pressure of extreme weather near the Iran border, creating a highly risky situation. However, the professionalism demonstrated by the Lahore air traffic controllers ensured that the planes were safely diverted away from the danger zone, although no response was received from Tehran Air Traffic Control despite repeated attempts,” he said. These flights were arriving and going to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and other countries. “The Lahore air traffic control, in co...

As gravediggers prepared new burial plots for those killed in the US-Israeli attack on Iran, Marzia Razaei wept for her son Arfan Shamei, who died in a blast at a military training camp days before he was due home on leave. The war that began on February 28 with a blitz of air strikes on Tehran and other cities has killed more than 1,300 Iranians so far, according to Iranian officials, and plunged the Middle East into crisis. Marzia Rezaei reacts while standing near the grave of her son, Erfan, who was killed in strikes, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, in Tehran, Iran, March 16, 2026. — Reuters Tears streamed down Razaei’s face and she stared vacantly, hugging a large portrait of Shamei, 23, her voice breaking with grief as she recalled her last conversation with him when they discussed his coming trip back home to his family. “I hadn’t seen him for two months,” she said, adding that his last day before heading home was meant to have been Monday, the day Reuters met her....

• Court orders prompt handover of bodies to Iranian embassy following autopsies in Galle • Chartered flight transports sealed boxes from Mattala airport to Iran • Colombo still holds over 250 crewmen from second ship; faces Washington’s pressure to halt repatriation COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Friday repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed when their warship was sunk by a US submarine nine days earlier, an attack that extended the raging Middle East conflict to the Indian Ocean, officials said. The seamen were killed when the frigate IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 just off Sri Lanka’s coast. The incident occurred while the vessel was returning from a naval exercise in India amid a wider US-Israeli war on Iran. An Iranian-chartered Airbus A340 transported the bodies from Mattala International Airport in the island’s south, according to an airport official who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The flight’s destination was not disclosed. “The departure was delaye...

The United States was responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school because of a targeting mistake, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. The newspaper, citing US officials, said the investigation into the February 28 attack was ongoing but preliminary findings were that the United States was responsible. The US military was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base of which the school building was formerly a part and target coordinates were set using outdated data, it said. President Donald Trump suggested earlier this week that Iran itself may have been responsible but later said he could “live with” whatever the investigation reveals. Asked by reporters about the Times report on Wednesday, Trump said: “I don’t know about it.” Iran has said the strike on the elementary school in the southern city of Minab killed more than 150 people. The Times said US Central Command officers created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defence Intell...

Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held a meeting with Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman in which both sides discussed Iranian attacks on the kingdom within the framework of the strategic defence cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir met with Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss the ongoing Middle East conflict and Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia. A statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued on Saturday said that the CDF visited the Kingdom and met with the defence minister. The two “discussed the gravity of the security situation accruing from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the Kingdom”, as well as joint measures needed to halt them within the framework of the strategic mutual defence agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year. According to the statement, it was emphasised that unprovoked aggression undermined efforts for regional security and stability and foreclosed options for the peaceful settlement of disputes. “Both sides expressed hope and desire that brotherly country Iran would manifest prudence and sagacity to avoid any miscalculation and strengthen th...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed concern over the violation of international norms and the targeting of heads of state/government following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a post on X, the premier said, “The government and the people of Pakistan join the people of Iran in their hour of grief and sorrow and extend the most sincere condolences on the martyrdom of His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.” He further said, “Pakistan also expresses concern over the violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.” The premier prayed for the Iranian supreme leader and for strength for the people of the country to bear “this irreparable loss”. Separately, President Asif Ali Zardari also expressed profound sorrow over the martyrdom of the Iranian supreme leader and other members of Iran’s senior leadership, according to a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat. “The pre...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi over the phone once again on Wednesday, the Foreign Office (FO) said. According to a post by the FO on social media, the two leaders “discussed regional developments and underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy”. They agreed to continue close engagement and coordination, the statement added. The two foreign ministers have engaged in multiple phone calls since the start of the new year. On January 29, in a phone call, Dar expressed concern over the evolving regional situation. Alongside that call, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also spoke with Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian on the same day, with the two leaders exchanging views on the “evolving regional situation”. Dar and Araghchi had also already spoken the weekend prior, when he received a call from the Iranian minister while on a visit to Dubai. Dar had expressed his hope for peace and stability in Iran in another phone call with the Iranian foreign...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held separate telephone conversations with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts on Tuesday to discuss regional and international developments, the Foreign Office said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening engagement with Iran in a meeting with the Iranian ambassador, Raza Amiri Moghaddam, in Islamabad on Saturday. Ambassador Moghaddam conveyed condolences over yesterday’s tragic suicide bombing at an imambargah in Islamabad, in which over 30 people were killed, the FO said in a post on X. Dar “strongly condemned the terrorist attack, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”, the FO said. The Iranian envoy also briefed Dar on progress achieved through various bilateral institutional mechanisms to enhance cooperation across diverse areas. The foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening engagement with Iran in key priority sectors of mutual interest, the FO added. Pakistan and Iran share close ties, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif having spoken with Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian last week on the “evolving re...

The US military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, it said. The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an American F-35 fighter jet, it said. “An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defence and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the US military’s Central Command. No American service members were harmed during the incident and no US equipment was damaged, he added. The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, and US President Donald Trump warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached. The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of a US military buildup in the Middle East following a crackdown against anti-government dem...

At least one person was killed and 14 were injured in an explosion in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, a local official told Iranian news agencies, but the cause of the blast was not known. State television said the explosion occurred at an eight-storey building, “destroying two floors, several vehicles, and shops” in the area of Moallem Boulevard in the city. Rescue and firefighting teams were on site to provide assistance, it added. Local fire chief Mohammad Amin Lyaghat said that the explosion was caused by a gas leak. “The initial cause of the building accident in Bandar Abbas was a gas leak and buildup, leading to an explosion. This is the initial theory,” said, in comments broadcast on state television. The official IRNA news agency quoted the Director General of Crisis Management in Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, as saying, “Those injured in the incident are being transferred to hospital by emergency responders.” Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not inv...

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday ordered security forces not to crack down on economic protests, drawing a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and armed “rioters”. Pezeshkian’s statement comes as Iranian cities continue to see a wave of protests against economic hardship triggered by price rises and currency collapse. Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) claimed on Tuesday at least 27 protesters have been killed during the demonstrations that kicked off with a shopkeeper’s strike in Tehran on December 28. Iranian media outlets, relaying official announcements, have reported 13 deaths, including members of the security forces and a policeman who was shot dead on Tuesday. In a video released by the news agency Mehr after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Iran Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Pezeshkian had “ordered that no security measures be taken against the demonstrators”. “Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military sites ar...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Office confirmed.

TEHRAN: Iranian for­ces killed six militants in a raid in the restive southeast, saying they were members of a “terrorist” group linked to Israel. “During an intense exchange of fire with terrorists in Sistan-Baluch­istan province, six assailants were killed and two others arrested,” official news agency IRNA said, citing a statement from the intelligence services. Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afg­hanistan, has long been a flashpoint for clashes bet­ween security forces and armed groups. The news agency said there were “documents” indicating “the Zionist nature” of the group targeted in the latest raid, adding that its members had planned to attack a “vital” facility in Iran’s east, without elaborating. The report said that “the main operation team” was composed of “seven non-Iranian terrorists”, but did not specify their nationality. Two intelligence agents and a police officer were wounded in the gunfight. Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2025

The Foreign Office on Friday confirmed that Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian will pay a state visit to Pakistan over the weekend. Iran’s IRNA news agency had reported on Wednesday that the Iranian president’s political adviser, Mehdi Sanai, had said Pezeshkian was due to visit Pakistan on Saturday for a two-day trip with discussions with “cultural and commercial elites” on the agenda. In a statement today, the FO confirmed the development, saying the Iranian president “will pay a state visit to Pakistan on August 2-3, 2025” at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation. Dr Pezeshkian will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, senior ministers and other high-ranking officials. The FO said Dr Pezeshkian will meet President Zardari and also hold delegation-level talks with PM Shehbaz. “This marks Dr Pezeshkian’s first official visit to Pakistan as president of Iran. It may be recalled that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last visited Iran on May 26, 202...