Iran and Pakistan set to meet on Monday to repair ties after tit-for-tat strikes, decline China’s mediation offer

The two countries have a “joint interest in combating the menace” of the ethnic Baloch militant groups waging insurgencies against Pakistani and Iranian security forces, a senior Pakistani official told This Week In Asia on condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic sensitivities.

The official said the Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would discuss with his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani on “how best to combat” the threat posed by ethnic Baloch insurgents from their hideouts in the remote region bordering both countries, which was also a haven for human smugglers and narcotics traffickers.

Seyed Mohammed Marandi, a noted Iranian academic who has advised the government on nuclear talks with the West, agreed that border security would top the bill when Amir-Abdollahian visits Islamabad for talks on Monday.

“I’m sure the border is a top priority” for Tehran because “the Israelis are trying hard to strike back at Iran” after its non-state militia allies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen targeted Israel in response to the Jewish-majority state’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, he said.

Marandi did not expect Iran and Pakistan to accept China’s offer to mediate between its two allies because “there is no need”, an assessment shared by the Pakistani official.

“The relationship is solid. But the border region needs money and infrastructure,” Marandi said.

03:20

Pakistan retaliates with missile strikes into Iran, killing 9 after Tehran attack on Pakistan soil

Chinese vice foreign ministers Sun Weidong and Ma Zhaoxu respectively “had an exchange of views” on the “international and regional situation” with top Pakistani and Iranian diplomats on Saturday and Sunday, according to official statements issued by