Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar emphasized the critical importance of implementing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, describing it as the sole viable solution to their ongoing dispute. He conveyed these views during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Bishkek.
DPM Dar had arrived in Bishkek a day earlier to join Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is on a three-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan to participate in SCO sessions and conduct bilateral discussions with the country’s leadership. The meeting between Dar and Araghchi involved an exchange of perspectives on bilateral ties and regional developments, with both sides reaffirming the need for sustained engagement.
Highlighting the significance of dialogue and diplomacy, Dar stressed that sincere adherence by both Washington and Tehran to the Islamabad MoU, signed in June 2026, is essential to advancing peace and stability in the region. In a related development, Dar also held talks with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the SCO summit.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a pivotal mediator in the efforts to end the conflict triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Islamabad successfully brokered a two-week ceasefire on April 8, which temporarily halted six weeks of hostilities, and has since continued facilitating communication between the two parties.
The Islamabad MoU, a 14-point interim agreement reached on June 18, aims to bring an end to the Middle East conflict. Pakistan has consistently pledged to play a constructive role in bridging differences between the US and Iran, promoting dialogue and de-escalation for a peaceful resolution.
These statements from DPM Dar come amid a resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East. On Monday, Iran launched attacks on US military targets in Jordan as retaliation for recent American strikes on Iranian territory, marking a fresh escalation in the six-month-long war. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported striking two US military airbases in Jordan with ballistic missiles, causing significant damage.
Additionally, Iran’s army claimed responsibility for a drone attack on the Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates early Monday, Iranian state media. These attacks followed US airstrikes on August 30 targeting Iranian rocket launchers on a small island in the Strait of Hormuz. The US stated these strikes aimed to prevent Iran from deploying sea mines in the strategic waterway, shortly after clearing explosives from the area.
Iranian forces asserted that the US strikes caused casualties, with their subsequent attack on Jordan described as a response to what they termed “US-Zionist aerial aggression.” This exchange of fire coincides with the six-month anniversary of the US-Iran conflict and occurs amid a US strategic focus on economic sanctions rather than further military action against Iran.
