After Shuttle Diplomacy, Pakistan FM Says Iran Wants De-Escalation

EghtesadOnline: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who has shuttled between Washington and Tehran in the course of a week, voiced confidence on Friday that Iran was seeking to lower tensions.

News ID: ۷۴۹۴۸۱

19 January 2020

Qureshi discussed Iran and Afghanistan's peace process on Friday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, five days after seeing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, according to Financial Tribune.

While stopping short of saying that he was transmitting any message, Qureshi said he understood that the Iranians "did not want to escalate things", AFP reported.

"They don't want war; they don't want further bloodshed," Qureshi told reporters in Washington.

The United States killed Iran's top general, Major General Qasem Soleimani, when he visited Baghdad on Jan. 3 in a drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump as.

Iran responded with missile strikes on US forces in Iraq but Qureshi, in line with western observers, believe that the reprisal was designed to minimize casualties.

Qureshi, whose country has strong relations with Saudi Arabia, said the Iranian leadership also signaled a willingness to ease tensions with its Arab neighbors.

The Iranians "highlighted the issues, the differences, they have had with other important countries in the region", he said.

"They said they are willing to engage at any level and in any format," Qureshi said.