WASHINGTON: The United States has declared that it does not support the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project going forward and cautioned Islamabad about the risk of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.
The Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, known as the Peace Pipeline, is a long-term project between Tehran and Islamabad, and has faced delays and funding challenges for several years.
Pakistan and Iran had signed a five-year trade plan in August 2023 and set a bilateral trade target at $5 billion.
Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said this week that his country was seeking a US sanctions waiver for the gas pipeline from Iran.
During his daily news briefing in Washington on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said “We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran runs the risk of touching upon and coming in contact with our sanctions, and would advise everyone to consider that very carefully.”
“We do not support this pipeline going forward,” the spokesperson added, saying that Donald Lu, the State Department’s top official for South and Central Asia, had said as much to a congressional panel last week.
‘No country should suffer terror’
Washington has condemned a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese nationals working on a dam project in Pakistan, saying no country should have to suffer “acts of terror.”
“We condemn the attack on a convoy of PRC [People’s Republic of China] engineers in Pakistan,” Matthew Miller said and added “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries sustained, and share our heartfelt condolences with those affected by the attack. The Pakistani people have suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists, and I’ll note that PRC nationals in Pakistan have also been the victims of terrorist attacks, and no country should suffer the acts of terror.”
