Pakistan steps up diplomacy to avert wider Middle East war, UNSC told

• Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad tells UN’s top body Islamabad facilitating dialogue to curb escalation

• Condemns attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, backs GCC states and warns continued fighting will deepen humanitarian crisis

• Doha talks yield progress on Islamabad peace MoU as US, Iran agree to communication mechanism on violations

 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday that it had stepped up diplomatic efforts to help prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East following retaliatory Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, warning that any further escalation could pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security.

Addressing a UNSC meeting, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said Islamabad had unequivocally condemned the attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and reaffirmed its solidarity with Bahrain and Kuwait.

"Pakistan has been categorically condemning attacks against the GCC countries and once again expresses its full solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Bahrain and Kuwait," Ambassador Ahmad said.

The Security Council meeting was convened at Bahrain's request, days after Iranian missile and drone attacks targeted United States military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.

"Any further escalation and continuation in fighting would only exacerbate human suffering and carry grave consequences for regional and international peace and security," he warned, adding that Pakistan was continuing to "facilitate dialogue and confidence-building measures to prevent any escalation."

His remarks came after Pakistani and Qatari mediators concluded separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators in Doha, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said, reporting "positive progress" on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at ending the conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Under the interim agreement, Iran and the United States agreed to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without transit charges for 60 days. However, Tehran later insisted that it should control maritime traffic and subsequently levy passage fees, challenging the long-standing practice governing the strategic waterway.

The United States and several Gulf Arab states have rejected Iran's proposal to impose transit charges. Efforts by Oman and a United Nations agency to establish an alternative shipping route closer to Oman's coastline triggered attacks across the Middle East last weekend, underscoring persistent regional tensions.

The interim agreement also included a 60-day ceasefire, the reopening of the previously blockaded Strait of Hormuz, a roadmap for negotiating a final settlement to the conflict and Iran's nuclear programme, and the immediate resumption of Iranian oil exports under a major concession from Washington.

US President Donald Trump said this week that indirect talks with Iran in Qatar were making progress, while Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who headed Tehran's delegation in Doha, said on Thursday the two sides had agreed to establish a communication channel to report and document violations of their initial Memorandum of Understanding.

"The channels of communication remain open, and we are persisting in our efforts geared toward ushering peace, security, and tranquility that will benefit the entire region and all countries without exception," Ambassador Ahmad told the Security Council.