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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran had “never refused to go to Islamabad” for talks amid the U.S.-Israeli war on the country.
In a post on his X account, Araghchi said Iran’s position was being “misrepresented by U.S. media,” adding: “We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad.”
“What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us,” he added.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said Sunday that Islamabad would be “honored” to host talks between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the ongoing Middle East conflict.
“Pakistan will be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the ongoing conflict,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a video statement hours after a quadrilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in the capital, Islamabad.
Dar said both Washington and Tehran had expressed confidence in Pakistan to facilitate the talks.
He said he briefed the top diplomats of Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia who attended the quadrilateral meeting on the prospects of potential U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.
The visiting foreign ministers expressed their full support for the initiative, he said.
“We also discussed the possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region,” Dar added.
“We agreed that this war is not in favor of anyone and would only lead to death and destruction,” Dar said, adding that the foreign ministers agreed that the only “viable” solution to the conflict is “dialogue and diplomacy.”
The top diplomats also reaffirmed “unity to contain the situation, reduce the risk of military escalations and create conditions for structured negotiations between relevant parties,” and called for upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “strong” commitment to play a positive role in bringing both Iran and the United States to the negotiating table.
He made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egypt’s top diplomat Badr Abdelatty in Islamabad.
Sharif shared Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach efforts with the two foreign ministers and stressed the need for collective efforts to urgently bring an end to hostilities.
Regional tensions have escalated since the United States and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
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