Iran | Pakistan

The return of Pakistani nationals from Iran is ongoing for the 33rd consecutive day, as authorities continue to facilitate arrivals through key border crossings following recent regional tensions involving Israel.

“Paper tiger”. “Cowards”. As US President Donald Trump grapples with the fallout of his war on Iran, much of his anger has been redirected onto another target: the Nato military alliance. Enraged by European allies who have refused to back his fight, rejected demands to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or denied access to US jets, Trump’s tone has grown increasingly menacing. “I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger,” Trump told British newspaper The Telegraph on Wednesday, suggesting he was strongly considering pulling the United States out. The ire from the president — who has also blasted Nato allies as “cowards” over Iran — is just the latest existential crisis to grip the 77-year-old alliance since his return to power last January. A few months ago, he rocked Nato’s foundations by threatening to seize the vast Arctic island of Greenland from fellow member Denmark — before abruptly backing off. That followed him repeatedly pulling the rug from under Ukraine in the war against Ru...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is set to address his nation at 9pm EST on Wednesday (6:00am on Thursday in Pakistan) to provide what the White House has described as “an important update on Iran,” fuelling speculation that he may declare an end to the five-week conflict — with or without a negotiated settlement. US media outlets, reporting the announcement, noted that Trump has brushed aside the need for a formal agreement to end hostilities. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, he said US forces would likely leave Iran in “two or three weeks.” “We leave because there’s no reason for us to do this,” Trump said. “We’ll be leaving very soon.” In remarks that appeared to redefine the war’s objectives, he suggested that a negotiated settlement was no longer essential. “Iran doesn’t have to make a deal. It’s a new regime. They are much more accessible,” he said, adding that if the war has prevented Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, “then we’ll leave whether we have a deal or not.“ Domes...

On the 31st day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the economic dimension of the war continued to become more pronounced as the conflict remained locked in a high-intensity, multi-domain phase, with exchanges continuing across Iran, Israel, and the wider region. Inside Iran, US and Israeli strikes continued to target the civilian infrastructure besides military and strategic targets, including hits on research facilities and air defence systems. The goal seems to be to degrade both Iran’s operational military capability and technological depth. Moreover, there have been attacks on energy sites, leading to power outages in major urban centres such as Tehran and Karaj. Despite these pressures, Iran’s retaliatory capacity remained intact, with continued missile and drone launches targeting Israeli industrial zones and infrastructure, as well as assets in Gulf countries. In Israel, the impact of these strikes has become more visible with a second confirmed hit on the Haifa Bazan oil refinery — one of the country’s mo...

A scrubby island in the Gulf that is roughly one third the size of Manhattan, Kharg Island is the nerve centre of the Iranian oil industry — and at the heart of US President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to pressure Tehran. On Monday, Trump vowed that a failure by Iran to agree a deal to end the war could see the United States “completely obliterating” the export hub. A day earlier, he had said the United States could take the island, eyed by the Pentagon for ground operations, “very easily”. So what are Trump’s options, and how might Iran react if he presses on this pressure point? What is Kharg Island? It may be a mere scrap of land, but Kharg handles around 90 per cent of Iran’s crude exports, according to a report by US bank JP Morgan. Located in the north of the Gulf, around 30 kilometres from the Iranian coast and more than 500km from the Strait of Hormuz, it has no oil wells. But it has Iran’s largest oil terminal, oil pipelines, storage tanks and related infrastructure. It also has military facilities...

The war in the Middle East has caused serious disruption to the economies of frontline countries, and is dimming the outlook for many economies that had just started to recover from previous crises, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Monday. In a blog published by the global lender’s top economists, the IMF said the war started by US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28 was causing a global, but asymmetric shock and leading to tighter financial conditions. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to regional infrastructure had caused the largest disruption to the global oil market in history, according to the International Energy Agency. Much would depend on how long the war lasts, how far it spreads and how much damage it inflicts on infrastructure and supply chains. The IMF said low-income countries were at particular risk of food insecurity due to higher food and fertiliser prices and may need more external support, even as many advanced economies were scaling back their in...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that both the US and Iran had expressed confidence in Pakistan to facilitate talks between them amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. He made these remarks in a televised address after a quadrilateral moot on the ongoing Middle East crisis. The meeting in Islamabad was also attended the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt. Dar said he had also held “very productive” bilateral meetings with the three foreign ministers, who also called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “As you know, the purpose of this visit of the foreign ministers was to participate in the second meeting of consultations among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt, which was held today in Islamabad. “You may recall that our first meeting was held in Riyadh on March 19, 2026,” he added. Sharing details of today’s quadrilateral meeting, Dar said the four foreign ministers had a very detailed and in-depth discussion on the current regional situation. “We al...

As the war in Iran threatens to imperil United States President Donald Trump’s legacy, the political stakes also are rising for two of his top lieutenants: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The pair, widely viewed as potential successors to Trump, have been thrust into still-developing negotiations to end the war at a moment when the Republican Party is already weighing its post-Trump future. Vance has taken a cautious approach, reflecting his scepticism toward prolonged US military involvement, while Rubio has aligned himself closely with Trump’s hawkish stance and emerged as one of the administration’s most vocal defenders of the campaign. Trump has said both men were involved in efforts to force Iran to accept US demands to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and allow oil traffic to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz. With the next presidential election due in 2028 and term limits barring Trump from running again, the president has been putting the succes...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said late on Saturday that the government of Iran had agreed to allow “20 more ships under the Pakistani flag to pass through the Strait of Hormuz”. In a post on X, he said two ships will cross the Strait daily. “This is a welcome and constructive gesture by Iran and deserves appreciation. It is a harbinger of peace and will help usher stability in the region,” he said. “This positive announcement marks a meaningful step toward peace and will strengthen our collective efforts in that direction,” he said. “Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward,” he said. He also tagged US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in the post. The world has been facing a global fuel crunch in the aftermath of a US-Israeli war on Iran, which has been going on for nearly a month. The fuel crisis has resulted from the disruption of traffic in...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt from March 29-30 for “in-depth discussions” on a variety of issues, including efforts to reduce the ongoing tensions in the region amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. In a press release issued on Saturday, the Foreign Office said that at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Saudi Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan, and Egypt’s FM Dr Badr Abdelatty will visit Islamabad from March 29 to March 30. “During the visit, the foreign ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” the FO said, adding that the visiting dignitaries will also call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Pakistan highly values its relations with the brotherly countries of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt,” the FO statement underscored. “The visit will provide an opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan’s cooperat...

Pakistan eases banking rules for Iran exports

On the 29th day of the US-Israel war on Iran, the conflict transitioned into a more visibly regional phase as strikes on Iran’s industrial and nuclear infrastructure were met with coordinated retaliation across multiple Gulf states. Over the past 24 hours, US and Israeli operations focused on degrading Iran’s war-sustaining capacity through coordinated strikes on its three largest steel production facilities, including plants in Ahvaz and Isfahan, effectively halting output at sites considered critical for missile and drone manufacturing chains. Parallel attacks targeted nuclear infrastructure, including the Arak heavy-water plant and the Ardakan yellowcake facility, as part of exerting pressure on Iran’s strategic programmes without directly crossing into overt nuclear escalation. Civilian impact also became increasingly more visible, with reports of casualties in residential areas of Isfahan and heavy munitions used in parts of Tehran and Qom. A plume of smoke rises from the site of a strike on Tehran, Iran...

WASHINGTON: Democrats on the United States House Armed Services Committee have called for an immediate public hearing on President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, pressing the Pentagon to testify publicly as concerns mount over strategy, transparency, and the mounting human and economic costs of the conflict. In a letter led by Ranking Member Adam Smith and signed by every Democratic member of the committee, the lawmakers urged Chairman Mike Rogers to convene a separate hearing on the conflict, apart from routine budget and posture hearings, and to require the Department of War to explain its objectives, operational plans, and costs. The Democrats noted that the war has already resulted in the deaths of 13 US service members and 290 wounded, along with more than a thousand civilian deaths. They expressed concern about the lack of clarity on possible US ground operations, shifting strategic and operational objectives, and reports that the administration intends to request a $200 billion supplemental budget fo...

ISLAMABAD: As maritime trade becomes more uncertain due to the Gulf crisis, Pakistan has permitted exporters to continue shipping food and pharmaceutical products to Iran via land routes without using mandatory banking instruments. Simultaneously, the federal government has permitted the export of rice to Central Asian Republics and Azerbaijan via the land route through Iran. The decision was communicated to customs field formations through an official message issued by the commerce ministry. According to the decision, the government has permitted the export of 10 food items to Iran via land route without the need for financial instruments. These items include rice, seafood, potatoes, meat, onions, maize, citrus fruits, bananas, tomatoes, and frozen chicken. Two other non-food items are pharmaceutical products and tents. Exemptions will be granted to exporters for the export of these items to Iran for three months — from March 24 to June 21. The exemption also covers rice exports routed through Iran’s land co...

The United States can only determine with certainty that it has destroyed about a third of Iran’s vast missile arsenal as the US and Israeli war on the country ​nears its one-month mark, according to five people familiar with the US intelligence. The status of around another third is less clear but bombings likely damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and ‌bunkers, four of the sources said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the information. One of the sources said the intelligence was similar for Iran’s drone capability, saying there was some degree of certainty about a third having been destroyed. The assessment shows that while most of Iran’s missiles are either destroyed or inaccessible, Tehran still has a significant missile inventory and may be able to recover some buried or damaged missiles once fighting stops. The intelligence stands in contrast to President Donald Trump’s public remarks on Thursday that Iran ​had “very few rockets le...

ISLAMABAD - Behind the scene diplomatic developments suggest that Pakistan is increasingly positioning itself as an important diplomatic intermediary in international crises, particularly in efforts to reduce tensions between the United States and Iran.

On the 28th day of the US-Israel war against Iran, US President Donald Trump’s decision to extend the “pause” on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure until April 6 created the appearance of a diplomatic opening; but in effect, it reflected an attempt to buy time amid rising military, economic and political pressures, while keeping escalation options firmly on the table. The extension, framed by Washington as a response to “ongoing talks,” has been rejected by Tehran as psychological signalling, with Iranian officials maintaining that no such request was made and reiterating their rejection of the US proposal. This difference in itself underscores the underlying reality that the pause is less about de-escalation and more about managing the pace of escalation, allowing the US and Israel to sustain pressure through other means while avoiding an immediate dive into full-scale energy warfare. On the battlefield, the conflict continued to operate at a high intensity. Iranian ballistic missile barrages and ...

In a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday, Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah “fully endorsed” Pakistan’s efforts for mediation between Iran and the US, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The statement said that PM Shehbaz held a phone call with the crown prince and “apprised the Kuwaiti leadership of Pakistan’s sincere diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in the Middle East”. During the conversation, PM Shehbaz reiterated “strong condemnation” of the attacks on Kuwait and expressed solidarity and support for the people of the Gulf country in these challenging times, the statement said. PM Shehbaz also offered condolences on the loss of precious lives and prayed for the recovery of the injured, it added. “While expressing deep appreciation of the prime minister’s leadership, the crown prince of Kuwait fully endorsed Pakistan’s efforts for mediation between Iran and the US,” the statement said. The crown prince thanked the prim...

China’s foreign ministry accused the media of publishing “false information” on Friday following a report that said the country’s top semiconductor firm has sent chipmaking tools to Iran. The report, which cited information from two unidentified senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, said contract chipmaker SMIC “began sending the tools to Iran roughly a year ago”. A US official was quoted in the report as saying they had “no reason to believe that any of this has stopped”. China is a key partner of Iran but has not announced military assistance to Tehran in the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire. The chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), did not respond to an AFP request for comment on Friday. Asked about the report at a regular news conference in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was “not familiar with the situation”. “What I can tell you is that recently, some media have been k...

On 27th day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the conflict has continued to be fully kinetic with no sign of de-escalation, even as US President Donald Trump’s five-day pause expires on Friday. Meanwhile, the overall trajectory of the conflict points towards an imminent widening of hostilities across multiple theatres. Over the past 24 hours, direct strikes inside Iran intensified. Multiple explosions were reported across central, southern and eastern Tehran, with air defence systems activated across the capital, while additional strikes hit Khorramabad, triggering blackouts and being followed by rescue operations. Reports also indicated damage in areas where residences and infrastructure are located in Mashhad. Iran’s response, both directly and through its regional network of allies, showed a marked escalation in tempo and scale. Missile and drone strikes continued against Israeli targets, with reports suggesting improved penetration rates against air defences and expanded targeting of defence, industrial and ...