Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is set to visit Pakistan from Monday to Wednesday, in a diplomatic move that signifies the first such visit following a brief surge in tensions between the two neighboring countries in January.
President Asif Ali Zardari (L) © Mena Today
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is set to visit Pakistan from Monday to Wednesday, in a diplomatic move that signifies the first such visit following a brief surge in tensions between the two neighboring countries in January.
This visit, as announced by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is seen as a step towards mending the frayed ties after a hostile start to the year.
President Raisi, accompanied by his foreign minister and a delegation of businessmen, is scheduled to meet Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
His itinerary also includes stops in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan's major eastern and southern cities, respectively. The visit aims to foster diplomatic and economic ties, culminating with Raisi's departure to Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Relations between Tehran and Islamabad soured dramatically when Iran conducted a missile and drone attack against a "terrorist" group on Pakistani soil on January 16.
Pakistan retaliated two days later by targeting "terrorist hideouts" in Iran. These confrontations in the Baluchistan region, which straddles the border of the two countries, resulted in the deaths of 11 people, primarily women and children, according to authorities.
After a brief period of discord, both countries announced a normalization of relations. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during a visit to Islamabad, emphasized that Iran and Pakistan would not let terrorism jeopardize their relationship.
The two nations have frequently accused each other of allowing rebel groups to operate from their territories to launch attacks.
The two countries have also been in talks for years regarding a gas pipeline project. Initiated with great fanfare in March 2013, the $7.5 billion project stalled due to Pakistan's financial constraints, preventing it from constructing its portion of the pipeline.
In February, Islamabad authorized the commencement of work on an initial 80 km section of the pipeline to avoid paying billions of dollars in delay penalties to Tehran. However, the United States reiterated its opposition to the project in March.
Iran's veteran supreme leader and a host of other top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes but the ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate in the war that began on February 28.
The Trump administration is quietly weighing Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as a potential partner, and even a future leader, Politico reported on Monday, citing two administration officials.
An Israeli precision strike hit a residential apartment building in Hazmieh - a predominantly Christian neighborhood east of Beirut - Monday afternoon, killing at least one person in what the IDF described as a targeted hit on a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Al-Quds Force.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.