Unity among Muslim countries ‘indispensable’: President Pezeshkian tells Naqvi

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday thanked Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for support during the recent 12-day war against Israel, saying that Iran attached great importance to its relations with Pakistan.

Warning that Israel was trying to create a rift among Muslim countries, President Pezeshkian called for “inevitable” unity and harmony among Islamic countries.

Underscoring the importance of diplomatic exchanges and constructive dialogue to enhance cooperation between the two countries, he expressed satisfaction over the current bilateral relations between the neighbouring nations.

The Iranian president further accentuated that Pakistan and Iran had immense opportunities to enhance cooperation, saying that his country would never forget the support extended by Pakistan during their war with Israel.

Meanwhile, Naqvi congratulated President Pezeshkian on achieving a “great victory” and recalled Pakistan’s support to Iran, saying that Islamabad strongly condemned the attack against Tehran at every forum.

He noted that Pakistan’s parliament was the first to pass a resolution condemning the war imposed on Iran and supported Iran’s legitimate right to self-defence.

The two leaders’ remarks come weeks after a 12-day armed conflict between Israel and Iran broke out on June 13 following Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and civilian targets, resulting in at least 606 deaths and 5,332 injuries, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.

In response, Tehran carried out missile and drone attacks on Israel, killing at least 29 people and injuring over 3,400, based on data from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The conflict also saw the US bombing Iran’s multiple nuclear facilities and claimed that the strikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme.

The fighting eventually ended with a US-brokered ceasefire that began on June 24.

Meanwhile, on the nuclear issue, Tehran has said that its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “will take on a new form” and has expressed desire for a diplomatic solution to resolve concerns over its nuclear programme.

Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA “has not stopped, but will take on a new form”, after the Islamic republic formally ended cooperation with the UN watchdog in early July.

Iran has blamed the IAEA in part for the June attacks on its nuclear facilities, which Israel says it launched to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon — an ambition Tehran has repeatedly denied.