Iranian | Pakistan

Pakistan on Tuesday condemned Iranian missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s energy facilities, terming the attacks as “a dangerous escalation” that undermined regional peace and stability. In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said, “The government of Pakistan expresses its deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the missile and drone attacks carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran last night against energy facilities in the Eastern Region of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” The statement said that Pakistan also mourned the loss of life resulting from these attacks and “strongly deplores the damage inflicted on vital infrastructure”. The statement also conveyed Pakistan’s condolences to the families of the victims, adding that the country firmly stood in solidarity with the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during this difficult time. “The government of Pakistan considers these attacks a serious violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a dangerous ...

Multiple people were sharing a video on several social media platforms since April 4, claiming it showed Iranian forces capturing an American pilot after shooting down a US F-15 fighter jet. However, the video is old and shows a Libyan soldier performing a parachute jump. The Middle East war has entered its 35th day with no let-up in hostilities. The conflict began on February 28, when the US and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure, including missile systems and nuclear-related facilities. The strikes marked a significant escalation in tensions between the countries, following a period of heightened regional instability and previous confrontations. On April 3, Iranian state media said the country’s forces shot down a US jet over its southern region. The US later said that it rescued two of its pilots from Iran. On April 4, a parody account named after former Iranian interim supreme leader Ayatullah Alireza Aarfi shared a video on X allegedly showing Iranian force...

The Government of Balochistan has officially set the price of Iranian petrol at Rs280 per litre across the province, warning of strict legal action against overcharging.

QUETTA: The Balochistan government on Saturday fixed the price of Iranian smuggled petrol at Rs280 per litre and announced that strict action would be taken against those charging more than this rate. Officials said that a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti decided that Iranian petrol would be sold in Balochistan at a fixed price announced by the provincial government. “The Iranian petrol will be sold only in Balochistan, and it will not be allowed to be sent out of the province,” said Kalat Deputy Commissioner Munir Ahmed Durrani, adding that nobody would be allowed to charge more than the fixed rate. He said there was no justification for selling Iranian petrol at the rate announced by the federal government for imported petroleum products. “The authorities will start strict checks and will take legal action against those found selling Iranian petrol at higher prices.” People involved in the Iranian petrol business had increased prices soon after the federal government announced highe...

Two family members of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in 2020, have been arrested in the United States after their residency permits were rescinded, the State Department said on Saturday. “Last night, the niece and grandniece of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qassem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status,” a department statement said. It identified the niece as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar. Her daughter was not named. Both “are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the statement said, without specifying their whereabouts. Soleimani, who led the IRGC’s foreign operations arm, was assassinated in a US drone strike while he was in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in January 2020 — the final year of President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. “As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Af...

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...