Pakistan urged the United States and Iran this Wednesday to fulfill the commitments made in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and to exercise restraint, after clashes between both countries resumed and U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the agreement reached last month had come to an end.
The Pakistani government, which participated as a mediator in the talks, insisted on preserving the understanding reached to contain the conflict and keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan maintained that the memorandum continues to be the basis for moving towards regional stability.
“Pakistan urges all parties to fulfill their respective commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which remains an enduring basis for understanding, mutual respect, and shared prosperity in the region and beyond,” the foreign ministry noted.
In addition to the call to respect the document signed by both parties, Islamabad asked to avoid further actions that would deepen the crisis. In that sense, the statement added that the country urges “all parties to exercise restraint,” in reference to the need to reduce tensions following the new military exchanges recorded in the region.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian greets Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during an official welcome ceremony in Islamabad.
The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was reached last month as a 14-point interim agreement between the United States and Iran. Among its main objectives were the cessation of hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important maritime routes for global oil and gas trade. The understanding was presented as a temporary mechanism to create conditions that would allow for progress toward broader negotiations.
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For its part, the United Nations (UN) expressed its concern over the deterioration of the situation and called for an immediate return to dialogue. The Secretary-General, António Guterres, asked that Washington and Tehran resume talks to avoid a new escalation of the conflict.
During a press conference, his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, conveyed the UN chief’s message. “The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint (…) and take immediate steps to de-escalate,” he stated.
As Dujarric explained, Guterres believes that the resurgence of fighting jeopardizes the diplomatic progress made in recent weeks.
“The Secretary-General is alarmed by the resumption of military clashes in the Gulf. The incidents we have witnessed in the last 24 hours threaten to derail the diplomatic progress achieved”, he declared.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during a meeting on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The head of the UN also urged both governments to resolve their differences through negotiations and not through military action. According to his spokesperson, Guterres called for the “urgent” resumption of talks and reiterated that a further expansion of the conflict would have “catastrophic consequences” for the Middle East as well as for the global economy and stability.
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The secretary general’s statements became known after Trump asserted that the understanding reached between Washington and Tehran was no longer in effect. The president maintained that the exchange of attacks recorded during the last few hours completely changed the scenario that had allowed the temporary agreement to be reached.
During a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump defended the U.S. military campaign against Iran and stated that the objectives related to the Iranian nuclear program had been achieved.
“The most important thing is that crazy people do not have access to nuclear weapons, and that is what we have achieved,” he declared. United States President Donald Trump speaks to the press during the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey.
The U.S. president also reiterated that his administration will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I call it ‘denuclearizing Iran,’ and that is what has happened. They are never going to have a nuclear weapon,” he maintained.
Trump also referred to Iranian highly enriched uranium reserves and asserted that this material remains inaccessible following the bombings of nuclear facilities.
