Tehran | Pakistan

Both sides at odds over control of Hormuz, chokepoint for global oil supplies that Tehran has used as leverage

Tehran sets preconditions for Hormuz reopening

Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on an official visit to Iran on Monday, accompanied by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Iranian president says Tehran will not make concessions, urges end to ‘no war, no peace’ situation

Top Iranian security official says Tehran and Islamabad have long regarded each other as strategic depth

Islamabad/Tehran - Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi met Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Tuesday, conveying Islamabad’s determination to strengthen and expand ties with Iran as the two countries seek to accelerate implementation of bilateral agreements and deepen cooperation across multiple.

Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for an official visit as Pakistan continues its diplomatic efforts to encourage dialogue between Iran and the United States amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.

Fresh US strikes triggered air defences in Tehran on Wednesday after President Donald Trump warned he was “not finished” with a war on Iran that has already cost his nation $37.5 billion. After the foes’ fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz led to the collapse of a preliminary deal, the Middle East war has expanded to include the region’s other key chokepoint for global oil supplies. The US military said its latest attacks hit targets such as “military logistics infrastructure” while Iranian state media reported strikes around the country, including Bushehr, which hosts a nuclear power plant. “News sources reported minutes ago that air defence activity was heard in the west, east and northeast of Tehran,” state TV posted on Telegram. As the war nears the five-month mark and November legislative elections approach, Trump has faced intense political pressure to end the conflict, which is unpopular even with segments of his base. Critics have pointed to the cost of the war that Pentagon Chief Pete Hegset...

The US, early on Thursday, launched a second wave of attacks on Iran’s coastal defences and missile sites within a span of 24 hours after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Tehran responded by again targeting US military sites in neighboring Gulf countries. The latest escalation comes days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, with Iran once again threatening to shut off more regional energy exports after blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz. Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the US-Israeli war on Iran. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high of $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday. US Central Command said the military had attacked coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran’s Greater Tunb ...

Pakistan’s recent diplomatic efforts for achieving sustainable peace in the deserve to be assessed not by whether they produced an immediate US-Iran agreement, but by what they strategically accomplished. First, it helped create diplomatic space at a critical moment, reducing the risk of a disastrous regional escalation. Second, it contributed to bringing Washington and Tehran into direct high-level engagement after nearly five decades of estrangement, demonstrating that dialogue remained possible even amid military confrontation. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the process helped identify the real sticking point around which any future negotiations must ultimately be built. Whenever tensions between the United States and Iran dominate international headlines, the debate almost invariably revolves around Iran’s nuclear programme. Yet, this focus often obscures the deeper strategic issue that has repeatedly frustrated diplomatic efforts. The nuclear file is important, but it is not the decisive obstacle. ...

The United States struck Iran on Monday for a second day running, drawing Tehran’s reprisals against US allies in the Gulf as the foes battle over the status of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The flare-up is the latest to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their war, which has caused global economic shockwaves since it began in late February. The latest salvo by US forces began at 2100 GMT on Sunday, Central Command (Centcom) said on X. The fresh strikes came less than 24 hours after a previous wave in which the US Centcom said 140 Iranian military targets were hit. In a subsequent post, Centcom said it had completed a new wave of “offensive strikes” against Iran, hitting “dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz”. “Centcom forces struck Iranian military air-defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small ...

The US military launched fresh strikes on Iran after the latter struck a container ship on Sunday, while Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and escalated attacks on US facilities in states across the Gulf. The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the latest barrage marked a sharp escalation in pace and range. The attacks extended to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which had not been targeted since early May, and Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April. Iran said it closed the strait after firing a warning ​shot that struck a vessel travelling on an “unauthorised route”. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response”. Iran later said it had disabled a second vessel. India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman earlier on Sunday. Oman said 23 c...

The US military launched fresh strikes on Iran after the latter struck a container ship on Sunday ‌while Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and escalated attacks on US facilities in states across the Gulf. A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the war on Iran that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations. Iran said it closed the strait after firing a warning ​shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unapproved route. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response.” The US Central Command, however, claimed commercial ​vessels continue to transit through the waterway that carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG shipments before the war. The Central Command said US forces hit 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday, out of more than 300 during three nights of strikes “to degrade Ira...

Vast crowds gathered for the funeral procession of Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday, with authorities estimating millions were on the streets in numbers that could rival those of his predecessor’s farewell nearly four decades ago. Authorities have yet to give an official turnout figure but AFP images showed huge numbers stretching along major boulevards in the Iranian capital. After lying in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, the body of Khamenei — who was assassinated on the first day of the Middle East war on February 28 — began its journey through the capital accompanied by massive crowds of mourners. Flower petals covered the coffin as it made its way along the streets, AFP images showed. Mourners, some throwing flower petals, gather near the coffins of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a funeral procession in Tehran on July 6, 2026. — AFP Mourners gathered in Imam Hussein Square in eastern Te...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during his visit to Tehran, saying Muslims around the world would remember him as a great scholar and leader.

Mourners and leaders from around the world, including Pakistan, gathered at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla to pay tribute to Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on Iran in February 2026. The funeral ceremonies will pass through a series of locations — from the seat of power in Tehran to the holy cities of Qom, Karbala, Najaf and finally Mashhad — reflecting the religious, political and ideological pillars of the Islamic republic. His funeral, initially delayed at the height of the Middle East war, is taking place as Iran and the US observe a fragile ceasefire following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to halt the conflict. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir offering prayers during the state funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. — AFP Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif writing in the condolence book during the state funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali ...

TEHRAN: Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Friday to attend the funeral prayers of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Chairman, Senate of Pakistan, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, departed for the Islamic Republic of Iran to attend the official funeral ceremony of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, scheduled to be held in Tehran on July 3, 2026.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq is scheduled to visit Tehran on July 2 to represent Pakistan at the funeral ceremony of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to official sources.

Iran on Friday condemned a joint statement issued by the US secretary of state and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers, describing it as “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative.” In a statement, the Iranian foreign ministry criticised positions outlined in the joint communique issued after the GCC-US ministerial meeting in Bahrain on Thursday and warned against what it called continued hostile and interventionist behaviour in the region. Tehran dismissed Washington’s stated “enduring commitment” to the security of GCC member states as “mere rhetoric” and a distortion of reality, arguing that the US military presence in the region has become a source of insecurity and division. The ministry said the recent use of military bases and facilities in regional countries during US and Israeli strikes on Iran demonstrated that Washington did not value the security of its regional partners. It urged regional states whose territory and facilities were allegedly used during the conflict to reconsider...