Iran war live: Tehran’s FM returns to Pakistan; Israel attacks Lebanon

Iran war news: FM Abbas Araghchi back in Pakistan as Israel bombs southern Lebanon

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Islamabad for his second Pakistan visit in 10 days while Israeli jets struck Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon overnight.

The shuttle diplomacy came hours after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Tehran that “the next phase of the war has begun” following strikes on 30 sites between Tyre and the Litani River.

Araghchi’s return suggests Pakistan is emerging as a rare diplomatic channel after Saudi Arabia and the UAE limited contact with Iran’s leadership. Islamabad shares a 959-km border with Iran and hosts 2.4 million Afghan refugees, giving it leverage Tehran lacks with Gulf states.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed Araghchi met Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and army chief General Asim Munir on Tuesday. She offered no details beyond saying they discussed “regional developments.”

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said warplanes hit weapons depots, command posts and missile launchers in 45 separate sorties starting Monday night. He added the raids responded to rocket fire that killed 2 civilians in Kiryat Shmona on Sunday.

Hezbollah announced 7 fighters died in the exchanges, bringing the group’s claimed death toll to 412 since October. Lebanese civil defense reported 3 civilians killed when a missile struck a home near Bint Jbeil.

The Iranian foreign ministry released no statement after Araghchi’s talks. Pakistani officials previously said they urged “maximum restraint” during his April 17 visit, when he also traveled to Oman and Qatar seeking support.

Islamabad balances ties with both Riyadh and Tehran. It depends on Saudi cash deposits to shore up foreign reserves yet imports discounted Iranian electricity for its volatile border province of Balochistan.

China’s ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong joined Araghchi and Dar for part of Tuesday’s meeting, according to 2 Pakistani officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Beijing buys discounted Iranian oil and funds Pakistan’s Gwadar port 80 km from the Iranian frontier.

American envoy Donald Blome met Pakistan’s foreign secretary the same day. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Washington appreciates “any effort to prevent wider conflict” but warned “Iran’s proxies must stop attacking Israel.”

Israel Katz posted footage of fighter jets on X with the caption: “We are exacting a heavy price from Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons.” He separately told army radio Israel could “paralyze Lebanon within hours” if ordered.

Energy markets barely moved. Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $74.60/barrel, well below the $95 spike that followed Iran’s April 13 drone barrage on Israel. Analysts said traders price in contained escalation after both sides showed limits.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati convened an emergency cabinet but exhorted “diplomatic solutions.” The country already hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees and faces its worst economic collapse since independence.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian by phone, stressing “the region cannot afford another war,” Amman said in a readout. Jordan shot down Iranian drones en route to Israel last month.

Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov offered Moscow’s good offices “if all parties agree,” the TASS agency reported. The Kremlin maintains contacts with Iran, Israel and Hezbollah through its Syria deployment.

Background

Iran and Pakistan have fenced most of their mountainous frontier since 2014 yet cooperate against Baloch separatists who operate on both sides. Tehran supplied electricity to Gwadar long before China’s Belt and Road investments, and Pakistan acts as a sanctions conduit for Iranian goods ranging saffron to carpets.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006 that killed 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis. UN Security Council resolution 1701 ended that conflict by deploying 10,000 peacekeepers south of the Litani and banning armed groups except the Lebanese army. Both sides have violated the resolution repeatedly; Hezbollah built up an estimated 150,000 rockets while Israel overflies Lebanon daily with drones.

What’s Next

Araghchi travels to Turkey on Wednesday before expected stops in Azerbaijan and Russia. Israeli officials say they will expand strikes if Hezbollah does not withdraw fighters north of the Litani, a demand the group rejects as long as Gaza fighting continues. Pakistan’s parliament debates a resolution on Gaza next week that could pressure the government to distance itself from U.S. and Gulf positions.

The rare convergence of Iranian, Chinese and American diplomats in Islamabad within 24 hours underscores Pakistan’s awkward balancing role. Whether that translates into cease-fire traction depends less on Rawalpindi’s diplomacy than on Tehran’s calculation that escalation serves no purpose with its nuclear facilities already on high alert.