Dar says Israeli attack on Iran set off ‘dangerous developments’ that ‘severely damaged’ peace process

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed regret on Tuesday that an attack by Israel on Iran set out events that “severely damaged the peace process” at a time when Washington and Tehran were close to coming to the table.

His statement in the Senate came ahead of an 8pm ET deadline that US President Donald Trump has given to Iran to enter a ceasefire agreement with Washington. Trump has warned of wider bombing on power plants and other critical infrastructure otherwise.

Pakistan has positioned itself as a facilitator in the peace process between the two sides, leveraging its ties with the US and its working relationship with Iran.

Addressing the Senate, Dar said Pakistan had been playing a proactive diplomatic role to reduce tensions, but recent developments had dealt a severe blow to peace efforts.

“Just as both parties were close to sitting at the negotiating table, Israel attacked Iran, which led Iran to target oil installations in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail city. This situation has severely damaged the peace process”, he said.

On Monday, Israel attacked Iran’s petrochemical facilities, following which Iran claimed an overnight attack on a petrochemical complex in a sprawling industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail.

Dar said he was “very optimistic” before last night, but recent “dangerous developments have once again made the situation tense”.

He highlighted that Pakistan was one of the first among Muslim countries to have openly condemned US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began the ongoing conflict.

He said when the US attacked Iran, he was in Saudi Arabia and contacted the Iranian foreign minister from Madina at the time to convey Pakistan’s stance.

Dar said Pakistan then decided to “immediately contact all important countries” in the region and played a facilitating role for a halt to hostilities.

“Both parties accepted Pakistan’s mediation and agreed to talks in Islamabad. Pakistan does not desire any medal or credit, but the goal was to establish peace in the region,” he said.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir made “tremendous efforts” for de-escalation while he, too, played a role on this front.

Pakistan conveyed Washington’s 15-point proposal to Iran for an end to hostilities in March, he said, adding that he also conveyed Iran’s five-point proposal in return to the US.

These efforts, he said, “led to a ceasefire possibility”.

Both parties were close to coming to the table, but Israel attacked Iran, and Iran targeted Saudi Arabia’s oil installations in retaliation, “which severely damaged the peace process”, he said.

He said Pakistan had also consulted China and other countries on the peace initiative, and the international community, including the United Nations secretary general, appreciated Pakistan’s role.

Dar said, “Pakistan will continue efforts to establish peace in the region, fulfilling its responsibility.”