Iran’s interior minister arrives in Islamabad on official visit

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday night on an official visit, according to state-run Pakistan Television.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi received the visiting Iranian official upon his arrival in Pakistan. During the visit, Momeni is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

The visit comes as Pakistan continues diplomatic efforts linked to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed last month between the United States and Iran. Earlier indications were that Momeni was expected to engage with Pakistani officials who had previously played a mediating role in securing an interim ceasefire between Washington and Tehran before that arrangement collapsed.

Regional tensions and mediation efforts

The Islamabad MoU, described as a 14-point interim peace arrangement, was signed by the US and Iran on June 18 with the aim of ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan has been leading peace efforts since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, a development that triggered war and a global fuel crisis after Tehran moved to disrupt shipping through the strategic waterway.

The truce has since broken down and fighting has intensified again. On Monday, the conflict entered its ninth straight night of attacks, with Washington widening its strikes inside Iran, including in a city that hosts a nuclear power plant. Iran also continued attacks across the region. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had struck targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Syria, while Bahrain said Tehran had targeted its air navigation systems.

US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that the ceasefire was "over", while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that the two sides were fighting a "full-scale war". Tehran has accused Washington of violating the MoU.

Despite the latest escalation, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said diplomatic contacts with the US through mediators were continuing. The war resumed after a lull of several weeks that followed the June agreement, and oil prices rose to a one-month high as both sides fought over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had reimposed its blockade of the route after the collapse of the truce, while Washington responded by again blockading Iranian ports.