US-Iran tension: FM Qureshi to visit Tehran on Monday

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan will be visiting Iran on January 12 (Monday) to defuse tensions in the Middle East, ARY News reported on Friday, citing sources.

After Iran, the foreign minister will land in Saudi Arabia on January 13 and then he will leave for Washington on January 15, sources said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday had directed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States and meet with respective foreign ministers, Secretary of State.

PM Imran in a tweet, said he had also asked Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa “to contact relevant military leaders to convey a clear message: Pakistan is ready to play its role for peace but it can never again be part of any war.”

‘Talks with Russia’

Pakistan and Russia have agreed to launch joint efforts aimed at restoring peace in the region that has witnessed rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

The agreement came during a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

The two leaders discussed issues pertaining to soaring tensions in the Middle East and the overall situation in the region.

‘Soleimani killing’

Tensions have been escalating between US and Iran after Iranian Major-General Qaseem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, was killed on January 3 in a US airstrike on his convoy at Baghdad airport.

Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on US forces in Iraq in the early hours of January 3 in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

Iran had claimed that at least 80 people were killed in ballistic missiles targeting US military bases in Iraq.

‘Additional punishing sanctions’

US President Donald Trump addressing a press conference on Wednesday said the United States ha increased sanctions on Iran after a missile strike this week on Iraqi bases housing American military personnel, but gave no other details.

“It’s already been done. We’ve increased them. They were very severe, but now it’s increased substantially,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I just approved it a little while ago with Treasury.”

The Iranian missiles fired on military bases in Iraq had not harmed any U.S. troops, he said. Iran “appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned,” he said.

However, Trump did not elaborate on the new sanctions and said the Treasury Department would make a statement.