Islamabad/Jerusalem/Tel Aviv: Pakistan’s prime minister said Tuesday he was willing to host talks between the US and Iran on ending the war in the Gulf, a day after President Donald Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants, saying there had been “productive” talks. In a post on X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan welcomed and fully supported ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war. “Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement,” he said. The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.
Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, creating the worst energy supply shock in history.
A Pakistani government source said discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and if it did happen, “a big ‘if’”, it would take place within a week.
IRAN DENIES TALKS HAVE TAKEN PLACE
Trump said Monday the US and Iran had held “very good and productive” conversations about a “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East”. He said talks had begun Sunday and continued into Monday, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner involved. But after Trump’s Truth Social comment Monday, Iran denied that any talks had been held. Iran’s powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf – the interlocutor on the Iranian side, according to an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter – described reports of direct talks as “fake news”.
AIR SIRENS SOUND IN TEL AVIV
Iranian missiles triggered air raid sirens in densely populated Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub, where there are also military sites. A missile carved a massive crater in the road of one neighbourhood, and the blast blew out the walls of a multi-storey apartment building, scattering debris across the street. It was the latest in a series of Iranian attacks in recent days that have penetrated Israel’s sophisticated air defences. There were no reported deaths. Israel’s military said its fighter jets had carried out a wave of strikes in central Tehran Monday, targeting command centres including facilities associated with the IRGC’s intelligence arm and the Intelligence Ministry. It said it had hit more than 50 other targets overnight, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites. Air defence systems were activated across Tehran as explosions were heard simultaneously in several areas of the capital, according to the Iranian news agency Nournews. At least eight people were killed and 28 injured in a strike on a residential area of Tabriz, a city of 1.7 million in Iran’s northwest, the provincial director for crisis management told Tasnim news agency.
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