Why Iran’s President Pezeshkian is heading to Pakistan after US-Iran talks
This is Pezeshkian’s first overseas trip since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, and comes a day after the high-stakes Switzerland talks. Islamabad
This is Pezeshkian’s first overseas trip since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, and comes a day after the high-stakes Switzerland talks. Islamabad, Pakistan – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to arrive in Islamabad for a state visit that is as much a gesture of gratitude as it is a statement of intent. The trip on Tuesday – his first overseas visit since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28 – comes a day after Pakistan and Qatar announced that the first round of high-level US-Iran talks in Burgenstock, Switzerland, had yielded a 60-day roadmap towards a final deal. The timing is not incidental. Pezeshkian arrives in Islamabad having just signed the most significant diplomatic agreement of his presidency. The deal faces the same factional fault lines at home that overshadowed the 2015 JCPOA negotiations. The 2015 JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers – the US, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China. According to the deal, Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from international sanctions. The US withdrew from the deal in 2018, during the first presidency of Donald Trump. “The fact that Pezeshkian is going to Islamabad immediately after signing the MoU tells us that he needs to convert this fragile agreement into political capital – at home, within the state, across the region, and internationally,” Reza Khanzadeh, a Middle East analyst and professor at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera. “He needs this visit more than Pakistan does.” During the visit, Pezeshkian will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the Switzerland talks, and President Asif Ali Zardari.
Pakistani Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will also meet the Iranian president, according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two sides are expected to discuss the Switzerland talks and ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, border security, and regional connectivity. Relationship forged through crisis The visit is Pezeshkian’s second to Pakistan as the Iranian president. After the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June 2025, Pezeshkian chose Pakistan as his first foreign destination, travelling to the eastern city of Lahore before heading to the capital Islamabad. Twelve bilateral agreements were signed. A target of $10bn in annual trade – up from roughly $3bn – was pledged. “Pakistan is the first country chosen by President Pezeshkian to come and personally express his gratitude and appreciation for the Pakistani political, military, and people of Pakistan for their commitment, for their help, for their efforts to pursue the mediation mission,” Afzal Reza, bureau chief of Iran’s official state news agency IRNA in Islamabad, told Al Jazeera. But the Pakistan-Iran relationship has not always been congenial. In January 2024, Iran launched missile attacks inside Pakistan’s Balochistan province, claiming to target the armed group, Jaish al-Adl. Pakistan retaliated within 48 hours, launching a series of attacks against hideouts of armed groups in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province. The two neighbours recalled their ambassadors, as the confrontation was described as one of the most serious military escalations between them in decades. However, both sides stepped back quickly. Iran’s then-foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, travelled to Islamabad to de-escalate tensions, and diplomatic ties were gradually restored.
The BriefWire