According to a report in Dawn, an official of the US State Department stated on Monday that Prime Minister Imran Khan was among the countries which made attempts to defuse the US’s tensions with the oil-rich Middle eastern state. Other leaders who reached out to Iran included France, Japan, and Oman.
Following Iranian general Qasim Suleimani’s assassination on Friday, Pakistan, while urging the US and Iran to avoid escalation, had maintained its commitment to not becoming party to any conflict in the region and offered to mediate in the latest crisis.
Iran had announced on Sunday that it would not be abiding by 2015 nuclear deal which placed limits on its nuclear programme.
Iranian General Qasim Soleimani was killed in a drone strike near Baghdad airport on Friday. Qasim Soleimani was the commander of the Al-Quds force, which deals with the Iranian regime’s external military operations. The general was important when it came to Iran’s influence in its neighbourhood, especially Syria and Iraq.
Tensions in the Middle East have been high as Iran has vowed revenge. On Saturday, foreign media reported that rockets launched by Iranian-backed militias landed near the US Embassy in Baghdad and an Iraqi airbase housing US troops.
A Pakistani defence analyst had said that United States informed Pakistan of its plan to take out Iranian General Qasim Soleimani beforehand.