In Tehran, Naqvi keeps diplomatic channel open
• Meets Iranian president, speaker of parliament as Trump says ‘clock is ticking’ for Iran • Pezeshkian calls on Muslim states to close ranks to counter ‘aggression by hegemonic powers’ • Ghalibaf says US presence in the region only creates ‘insecurity’ • Iranian media reports suggest latest US proposal contains no ‘concrete concessions’ • PM Shehbaz speaks to Qatari counterpart; Dar calls Egyptian FM ISLAMABAD/TEHRAN: Pakistan continued pushing for a diplomatic solution to the war in the Middle East over the weekend, with a cabinet minister holding meetings with top Iranian leaders in Tehran, while PM Shehbaz Sharif and his deputy, Ishaq Dar, remained in touch with key regional leaders on the developing situation. The ceasefire between the US and Iran currently hangs by a thread, with US President Donald Trump warning on Sunday that the “clock is ticking for Iran”, saying they “better get moving”. Trump has repeatedly said in the past that the truce with Iran has been put in place at Pakistan’s urging, so it is no surprise that Islamabad remains fully engaged on the diplomatic front — playing the role of key interlocutor and mediator between Iran and the US. Mr Naqvi, who arrived in Iran for a two-day visit a day earlier, met with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday. According to Iranian media, the minister’s one-on-one meeting with the president was held at the Presidential Palace and lasted around 90 minutes. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were also present on the occasion, the official IRNA news agency reported. During the meeting, the Iranian president suggested that Islamic countries should move towards convergence by relying on their religious, cultural and strategic commonalities, according to state-run IRNA . Emphasising the continuation and deepening of bilateral cooperation i...
Original source: Dawn Pakistan