Rubio warns that countries helping Iran evade US sanctions will face measures too
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, said no country should be helping Iran evade sanctions and that Washington would have to sanction those which choose to do so. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the same summit, and Islamabad defends the memorandum signed in June as the region's most viable path to peace.
Geopolitics··Midday
Rubio warns of sanctions when asked about the Modi and Pezeshkian meeting in Bishkek
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked on a radio show about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, said no country should be helping Iran evade sanctions and added that Washington would have to sanction those which choose to do so. He also said he did not think there was a trade deal between India and Iran. Modi and Pezeshkian met on the sidelines of the summit and discussed expanding and diversifying bilateral trade, the security of commercial shipping lanes and the safety of seafarers.[1]
After Sharif's meeting with Pezeshkian, Pakistan calls the memorandum the most viable path
Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Wednesday's weekly briefing that his country remains hopeful despite the latest escalation between the United States and Iran and would keep striving for dialogue and diplomacy, repeating that the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, signed in June with Pakistan as mediator, offers the most viable path to lasting peace in the region. Andrabi said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Pezeshkian this week on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and repeated a commitment to peace through restraint, dialogue and diplomacy. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the same summit.[2]
After Munir's visit to Tehran, Pakistan keeps its mediation track going
Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Tehran last week, and Andrabi said the talks covered regional de-escalation, breaking the military stalemate and exploring a negotiated settlement, with the leaders of Oman and Qatar travelling to Iran after the visit. Pakistan brokered a ceasefire between the United States and Iran in April; it halted the most intense fighting, while attacks have continued mainly around the Strait of Hormuz and the prospect of a final peace agreement has weakened. Rubio's warning was aimed at third countries rather than at Tehran and named no country as the target of new measures, and he gave the answer in a radio interview rather than in a formal department statement.[2], [1]
