Iranian FM in Pakistan for consultations on Middle East situation

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Monday arrived here on a two-day official visit to hold consultations with Pakistan’s leadership on the situation in the Middle East and bilateral relations.

During his visit, Foreign Minister Araghchi will hold meetings with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, according to a Foreign Office press release.

This visit provides an important opportunity to advance cooperation and dialogue between Pakistan and Iran on a wide range of areas including trade, energy and security.

The visit came at the time when scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, Israel’s military said.

It was retaliation for Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel with about 200 ballistic missiles, and Israel warned its heavily armed arch-foe not to hit back after the latest strike.

Iran condemned the Israeli raid and its foreign ministry said Iran was “entitled and obligated” to defend itself. But it added that it “recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security,” a more conciliatory statement than after previous bouts of escalation.

Iran’s military said the Israeli warplanes used “very light warheads” to target border radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and around Tehran.

“Enemy planes were prevented from entering the country’s airspace … and the attack caused limited damage,” Iran’s military joint staff said in a statement.

David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear weapons inspector, said low resolution commercial satellite imagery appeared to show that one Israeli strike hit the sprawling Parchin military complex near Tehran, damaging three buildings, including two where solid fuel was mixed for ballistic missile engines.

Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a Washington think tank, said Israel also hit Khojir, a sprawling missile production site near Tehran.

Tensions between Iran and Israel have grown rapidly since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, raising fears of a wider regional conflict that could drag in global powers and imperil world energy supplies.

Worsening conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is waging an intense campaign against Hezbollah to stop it firing rockets into northern Israel, has raised the temperature still further.

The United States, which had pressed Israel to avoid targeting sensitive Iranian energy and nuclear sites, joined other countries in calling for a halt to the cycle of confrontation between Israel and Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel had chosen the targets in Iran based on its national interests, not according to what was dictated by the United States.