Pakistan Ramps Up Efforts to Defuse Middle East Tensions
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Dar — who also serves as deputy prime minister — disclosed that he was already on Saudi soil when hostilities broke out over the weekend, positioning him to immediately open lines of communication with both Riyadh and Tehran.
"I told (Iranian Foreign Minister) Abbas Araghchi that we have a mutual defense agreement with Saudi Arabia (signed last year) … he asked me to ensure that Saudi soil is not used against us," Dar said.
"I had shuttle communication with Saudi Arabian authorities and their foreign minister, and similarly with Iran too," he added, crediting that backchannel engagement for limiting the war's spillover. "There has been minimal impact of war on Saudi Arabia," he said.
The weekend US-Israeli airstrikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with numerous senior commanders and officials. Tehran responded with waves of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and US-linked installations across Gulf nations, killing at least six American personnel.
Dar expressed visible unease at the timing of the offensive, noting that US-Iranian nuclear negotiations — mediated by Muscat — had been trending in a constructive direction immediately prior to the strikes. Recounting a conversation Monday night with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi, Dar said he was informed that the final round of talks had concluded "on a positive note" — only for the offensive to follow.
"It (US-Israel offensive) was a repeat of what happened in June last year," he said, drawing a direct parallel to the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June, during which the US briefly intervened and struck three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Dar also weighed in on the substance of the stalled nuclear negotiations, revealing that Pakistan had pushed back against Washington's demand for zero enrichment — asserting that the "peaceful use of nuclear energy was a legitimate right" of Iran. He indicated a tentative framework had taken shape. "It was agreed that there should be surveillance of two to three countries on (Iranian nuclear program) and Iran was happy with that," he said, declining to identify the countries involved.
On Tehran's retaliatory strikes against US installations, Dar acknowledged the broader infrastructure damage. "There have been attacks on infrastructure and airports as well," he said. He also lamented the missed opportunity for collective regional diplomacy. "Had this not happened, we would have rallied these countries to stand up and have a joint voice against Israeli and US actions," the minister maintained.
On the consular front, Pakistan's ambassador to Tehran, Mudassir Tepu, posted on US social media platform X that the Pakistani embassy is actively working to evacuate approximately 15 Pakistani sailors currently stranded in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The embassy confirmed that at least 650 Pakistani nationals have already been successfully evacuated from Iran.
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