Pakistan invites top Iranian leaders for talks as Tehran weighs fallout from US-Israel conflict
Araghchi and Ghalibaf will visit Pakistan “at an appropriate time”, Baghaei said in remarks carried by Iranian state media, without providing further details on the timing.
“Reciprocal visits and exchanges are a natural part of the growing ties between the two neighbouring countries,” he added.
Pakistan has played a mediatory role between Washington and Tehran during the conflict, including efforts to de-escalate tensions and facilitate negotiations between the two sides. Islamabad also helped broker a ceasefire in April and a framework agreement in June.
That agreement subsequently collapsed, with the United States and Iran exchanging attacks for nearly two weeks before US President Donald Trump halted the bombardment amid reports of efforts to revive talks aimed at ending the conflict.
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Iran says US created conditions for Israeli war
The latest diplomatic outreach comes as tensions remain high across the region.
Baghaei has accused the United States of creating conditions that allowed Israel to wage war with impunity. His remarks came as Iran continued to criticise Washington’s role in the conflict and its support for Israel.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told NBC News that Trump had “lost this war” with Iran, arguing that continued fighting was weakening Washington while strengthening Tehran.
The conflict has also continued to have repercussions beyond Iran and Israel. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli forces opened fire with machineguns towards the southern Lebanese town of Wadi al-Salouqi.
In Gaza, Israel has injured at least six people over the latest 24-hour reporting period, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also documented 108 attacks last month by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian journalists and media workers in the occupied West Bank.
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Iran warns Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war status
Iran has also signalled that the conflict could have lasting implications for the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil shipping route.
Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, said the Strait would not return to its pre-war condition, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
Addressing the assembly on the regional situation, Nikzad said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran tried to inform the aggressor and deluded enemy of the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is not going to return to the pre-war conditions during the days of the war.”
“Unfortunately, they tried to pretend not to know, but the passage of time is the greatest teacher for deluded people, and today the American-Zionist enemy, with a strong fist of armed forces, has practically realised that the opening of the Strait of Hormuz has no military solution and must submit to the new order in the region,” he said.
Nikzad added that Iran’s immediate priority was to address the country’s economic challenges.