Dar speaks with Spain’s FM before key US‑Iran ceasefire talks on Friday

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone call with his Spanish counterpart ahead of scheduled US‑Iran ceasefire negotiations in Islamabad this Friday, government sources said on Wednesday.

The discussion came as Pakistan prepares to host delegations from Washington and Tehran to follow up on a recently brokered two‑week ceasefire agreement aimed at de‑escalating weeks of intense conflict in the Middle East. Pakistani mediation was instrumental in arranging the truce, which has temporarily eased tensions and opened the door for further diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Iran has halted oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel’s latest attacks on Lebanon, according to semi-official Iranian news agency Fars and confirmed by CNN. The move comes amid tense US-Iran relations following a fragile, Pakistan-mediated ceasefire.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a two-week conditional ceasefire to pause hostilities across the region, including Lebanon. However, Israel’s ongoing offensive against Hezbollah was explicitly excluded from the truce.

The Israeli military carried out what it called the largest strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war, hitting over 100 sites across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon within minutes. Lebanese authorities reported hundreds of casualties, with at least 1,530 killed and thousands injured in the escalation.