Iran’s Pezeshkian meets Pakistan’s Naqvi in Tehran as tensions with US rise

Pakistani interior minister’s trip to Tehran is his sixth and comes as Islamabad, Doha seek to revive diplomacy with US.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has held talks with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran, as Pakistan and Qatar seek to revive diplomacy amid fears that regional tensions could intensify.

Naqvi’s visit to the Iranian capital on Monday was his sixth since the United States and Israel’s war on Iran began in February. It came a day after Tehran said it had received intelligence that the US was planning new attacks on the country.

Pezeshkian, speaking to Naqvi, said he hoped for stronger ties between Tehran and Islamabad.

“We believe that US actions and pressures have contributed to greater convergence and continued engagement among Islamic countries, and the numerous meetings and consultations between Iranian and Pakistani delegations are a clear example of this trend,” he said.

Naqvi hailed the relationship between the two countries, saying: “We believe that relations between Iran and Pakistan have never been at such a high level as they are today.”

Separately, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in New York on Monday to take part in the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), making a brief stop in Qatar’s capital, Doha, en route to discuss regional developments with Qatari officials.

A spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed al-Ansari, addressing a summit on the sidelines of the assembly, reiterated on Tuesday that Qatar is working to facilitate an agreement between Tehran and Washington in coordination with Pakistan.

“Doha is working to mediate and open a path for dialogue between Iran and the US,” he said, adding that Qatar is striving to facilitate the possibility of reaching an agreement, even a short-term one.

Pezeshkian, who is also expected to address the UNGA, plans to hold talks with several world leaders and officials while in New York. The US granted visas to Pezeshkian and Araghchi but imposed travel and purchasing restrictions on the remaining Iranian delegation.

US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, said he was weighing several options for dealing with Iran, including “wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically or making a deal”. He added that he would “probably” be open to meeting with his Iranian counterpart.

Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s top security official, meanwhile told Al Jazeera that Tehran had presented the Trump administration with a new set of conditions to restart talks after a 60-day memorandum of understanding reached on June 17 failed to end the war or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He said Tehran was awaiting the US’s response.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported attacks on two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Iran has targeted vessels attempting to transit the waterway without its authorisation or using unapproved shipping lanes.