Iran | Pakistan

Iran was laying plans on Saturday to cut off water supplies periodically to Tehran’s 10-million-strong population as it battles its worst drought in many decades. Rainfall in the capital has this year been at its lowest level in a century, local officials say, and half of Iran’s provinces have not seen a drop fall in months. Now, to save water, the government is planning water cuts in Tehran — and several local news outlets have already reported pipes running dry overnight in some areas. “This will help avoid waste even though it may cause inconvenience,” Iran’s Energy Minister Abbas Ali Abadi said on state television. In a speech broadcast on Friday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned that Tehran might have to be evacuated if no rain falls before the end of the year. But he gave no details about how such a vast operation would be conducted. Tehran nestles on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains and has hot, dry summers usually relieved by autumn rains and winter snowfall. Iranians drink wat...

WASHINGTON: The United States accused Iran on Friday of “plotting to assassinate” Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, in what would be the latest attempt to take the two countries’ conflict to another region. A US official said the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force initiated the plot late last year and that it was disrupted this year. “The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat,” the US official said. The US official did not provide detailed evidence or say how the plot was contained. The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment. According to the US official, the alleged plot would have taken place after April 1 last year, when Israel attacked the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, killing several top officers of the Revolutionary Guards. Israel carried out a much more extensive bombing campaign in Iran this year that killed more than 1,000 people. The United States joined by bombing key nuclear sites. Iran has been a critical supporter of Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Stri...

Pakistan and Iran on Friday vowed to enhance cooperation to eradicate terrorism from the two states and reiterated their commitment to peaceful means of dialogue and diplomacy for the resolution of all outstanding disputes around the world. Pakistan and Iran share close ties and have signed multiple agreements across sectors such as energy and trade. The two sides also expressed eagerness to further foster cooperation with each other in the fields of mutual interest. The commitments were made when Speaker of Iranian Parliament Dr Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a statement from the PM’s Office said. “Both countries condemn state-sponsored terrorism and have always supported each other in the wake of unilateral aggression against their sovereign states”, the statement quoted the PM as saying. The prime minister said Pakistan and Iran had unfortunately been victims of terrorism; thus, they firmly shared the resolve of global peace, prosperity and positive cooperation in the reg...

ISLAMABAD - Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that Pakistan and Iran share a relationship rooted in common faith, culture, and history.

Pakistan and Iran have signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at enhancing collaboration in the media and broadcasting sectors.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday hailed Iran and Pakistan as partners in maintaining regional peace and stability during a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian. Pakistan and Iran agreed in August that peace and prosperity in their border regions hinged on effectively combating terrorism. The nearly 900-kilometre border between the two countries has long faced security threats from proscribed groups, such as Jaish al-Adl and the Balochistan Liberation Army. Pakistan and Iran share close ties but persistent issues, including terrorism, smuggling, and mutual accusations of harbouring militants, have periodically strained relations. The interior minister is currently on a visit to Iran at a time of sustained tension with two of Pakistan’s neighbours, Iran and Afghanistan. A press release issued today said he met President Pezeshkian, with the two discussing bilateral and bilateral cooperation. “Iran and Pakistan are partners in regional peace and stability,” the press release quoted Naqvi as saying...

Pakistan and Iran have discussed exploring new avenues for cooperation in the blue economy by strengthening road, railway, and maritime connectivity between the two neighboring countries.

Pakistan has relocated the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) laboratory to Taftan, enabling the on-site testing of hydrocarbons and related products at the border wih Iran.

Pakistan has approved a revised barter trade framework to facilitate smoother trade with Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia, expanding the scope of goods exchange under more flexible terms.

Iran said on Saturday that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”. The 2015 deal — signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme. But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington unilaterally withdrew during President Donald Trump’s first term, with Iran later pulling back from its commitments. The reimposition last month of UN sanctions at the urging of three of the deal’s European signatories rendered the accord effectively moot. From now on, “all of the provisions (of the deal), including the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear programme and the related mechanisms are considered terminated”, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement on the day of the pact’s expiration. “Iran firmly expre...

Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday criticised US President Donald Trump’s call for dialogue, accusing Washington of “hostile and criminal behaviour” after his remarks to Israel’s parliament about being ready to strike a deal with Tehran. The ministry said in a statement that Trump’s call for peace is in conflict with his actions towards Iran. “Mr Trump can either be a President of Peace or a President of War, but he cannot be both at the same time,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a separate comment on X on Tuesday. In June, the US joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities after five rounds of indirect nuclear talks with Tehran that stalled over issues like domestic nuclear enrichment. The foreign minister reiterated his position that Tehran has always been open to “respectful and mutually beneficial diplomatic engagement”. US demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium were rejected earlier this year as “excessive and outrageous” by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said Teh...

Iran Air has announced the launch of its flight operations to Pakistan, beginning with a weekly direct flight between Mashhad and Lahore starting October 29, marking the resumption of air connectivity between the two cities.

Iran on Tuesday denounced “baseless claims” made by United States President Donald Trump, calling Washington “the largest sponsor of terrorism”. Addressing Israel’s Knesset on Monday ahead of joining an international peace summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, Trump said that Iran wants to reach a peace deal with the US “even if they said, ‘We don’t want to make a deal,’”. In a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA, the foreign ministry said: “The US, as the world’s largest generator of terrorism and supporter of the terrorist and genocidal Zionist (Israeli) regime, has no moral authority to level accusations against others.” “The repetition of false claims regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme can in no way justify the joint crimes of the US and the Zionist regime” in violating Iran’s soil, the ministry said. Israel launched a surprise attack on Tehran on June 13, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran launched retalia...

ISLAMABAD - Following the deadly cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, regional powers including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar yesterday urged both Islamabad and Kabul to exercise restraint and resolve their escalating border dispute through dialogue.

ISLAMABAD - Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan, H.

The United Nations has reinstated an arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme following a process triggered by European powers that Tehran has warned will be met with a harsh response. Britain, France and Germany initiated the return of sanctions on Iran at the UN Security Council over accusations it had violated a 2015 deal that aimed to stop it from developing a nuclear bomb. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. The end of the decade-long nuclear deal originally agreed by Iran, Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Russia and China is likely to exacerbate tensions in the Middle East, just months after Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites. UN sanctions imposed by the Security Council in resolutions adopted between 2006 and 2010 were reinstated at 8pm EDT on Saturday. Attempts to delay the return of all sanctions on Iran failed on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN this week. “We urge Iran and all states to abide fully by these resoluti...

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has welcomed the recent stance by Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan against the establishment of foreign military bases in and around Afghanistan. This position was affirmed in a joint statement released after foreign ministers from the four countries met on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. They emphasised respect for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and said re-establishment of foreign military bases is “not conducive to regional peace and security.” According to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, his country not only welcomed the stance of the four countries but said that “Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used against other countries, nor permit armed groups to operate from its soil.” While the joint statement did not refer to any specific country seeking bases in Afghanistan, it follows one by US President Donald Trump where he said Washington was trying to get...

Iran and Russia signed a $25 billion deal to build nuclear power plants in the Islamic republic, Iranian state media reported on Friday, just hours ahead of the likely return of sweeping UN sanctions on Iran. “A deal for the construction of four nuclear power plants with a value of $25 billion in Sirik, Hormozgan was signed between the Iran Hormoz company and Rosatom,” state television said. Iran has just one operational nuclear power plant in Bushehr in the south, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts — just a fraction of the country’s energy needs. According to state news agency IRNA, each plant will have a capacity of 1,255 megawatts, though no details were provided on the timeline. The move comes as so-called snapback sanctions triggered by the European parties to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran are set to return by the end of Saturday. Britain, France and Germany triggered the sanctions last month, accusing of Iran of failing to adhere to its commitments under the agreement. At a Security Council ses...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday welcomed the landmark mutual defence deal struck between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as the beginning of a “comprehensive regional security system”. Pakis­tan and Saudi Arabia entered into a landmark mutual defence agreement, under which any aggression against one state will be considered an attack on both. The pact was signed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman at the Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh last week. The timing of the accord, coming on the heels of an Arab summit that signalled a shift towards collective security — in the wake of Israel’s attack on Qatar — hints that it is rooted in current world affairs and reflects the defence concerns of both countries. It also comes just months after a deadly India-Pakistan conflict in May, as well as the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. The Iranian president praised the defence deal while addressing the General Debate of the 80th Session of the United Nations General ...

Iran insists diplomacy is the only way to resolve a decades-long nuclear dispute with the West, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV on Monday, adding it was time for the West to choose “cooperation or confrontation” amid looming sanctions. Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, launched a 30-day process on August 28 to reimpose United Nations sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. Araqchi said he will meet with his European counterparts and the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, in New York this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme. Two European diplomats told Reuters the meeting will be on Tuesday. “They have tested Iran repeatedly and know we do not respond to the language of pressure and threat,” Araqchi said. “I hope we can find a diplomatic solution in the coming days, otherwise, Tehran will take appropriate measures.” The E...