Pak min Naqvi to visit Tehran; Iran says talks to focus on bilateral ties

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi will visit Tehran on Sunday for talks with Iranian leaders and officials amid escalated tension in West Asia, which involve the US-Iran conflict and fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis, according to media reports.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Naqvi's visit would focus on bilateral relations and follow-up to previous understandings between the two countries, with no specific mediation message planned, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on Saturday.

"The visit of Pakistan's interior minister is entirely within the framework of bilateral discussions," Baghaei was quoted as saying by IRIB, adding that one of Pakistan's economic ministers might also accompany the interior minister.

The visit, however, comes at a crucial time. Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis have intensified, with the former carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions and the group launching drone and missile attacks against Saudi territory.

It has raised concerns over the security of Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping routes around the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Roughly 10 to 15 per cent of global maritime trade normally passes through them.

Pakistan has also been playing the role of a key mediator between Iran and the US to revive stalled negotiations.

The two parties had signed an interim peace agreement in June, which Islamabad has signed as a guarantor, but the process was disrupted in July after military escalation by both sides.

The Strait of Hormuz, which effectively remained blocked, remains the key sticking point. Roughly a fifth of the world's energy supplies passed through this waterway in peacetime.

Baghei said Pakistan could use Naqvi's visit to raise regional issues, but there had been no discussion so far of the minister carrying any specific US message or proposal, The Express Tribune reported.

According to Baghaei, the main purpose of the visit was to follow up on previous understandings between Islamabad and Tehran, particularly decisions reached at the leadership level, The Nation reported.

Naqvi is expected to hold meetings with senior Iranian officials during Sunday's visit, with bilateral relations and other matters of mutual interest on the agenda.

The visit comes a day after Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by telephone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during which Dar highlighted the importance of uninterrupted energy supplies and the safe and expeditious passage of ships, particularly because of their implications for developing countries and global supply chains.

Naqvi has made multiple official visits to Tehran in the last three months.