Dar and Turkish counterpart urge de-escalation as Iran war rocks region

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry published in X.

According to the ministry, the leaders “discussed the evolution of the regional situation and expressed serious concern about the growing tensions.” Dar highlighted the urgent need to reduce tensions and emphasized that constructive dialogue and diplomacy “remain the only effective means to resolve problems and promote peace and stability in the region.”

Read: Iran says Larijani killing will not weaken system as tensions rise after targeted attack

The conversation comes as the US and Israel’s war against Iran continues, worsening tensions in the Middle East region. Iran attacked Tel Aviv with missiles with cluster warheads in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, Iranian state television reported Wednesday.

The Islamic Republic will hold the funerals on Wednesday for Larijani and another Iranian figure killed on Tuesday by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force, according to the far and Tasnim news agencies.

In addition to sending missiles and drones to Israel and Gulf nations, Iran has also sought to exact a heavy toll on the global economy, including by raising the cost of oil by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for crude oil. With oil still hovering around $100 a barrel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Wednesday that the global repercussions of the war “have just begun and will affect everyone.”

Read more: Iranian projectile hits near Australian base in United Arab Emirates amid growing Middle East crisis

Meanwhile, as part of an effort to reopen Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil transits, the U.S. military said it has pulled out some of the heaviest bombs in its arsenal to penetrate adjacent missile sites. The United States dropped several 5,000-pound (2,250 kg) bombs, costing an estimated $288,000 each, at “hardened Iranian missile sites” near the coast that posed a threat to international shipping, Central Command said.

Even though the strait was effectively closed, the first Pakistani ship to transit through it entered the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Oman and reached Pakistan’s maritime zone, carrying a cargo of 80 million liters of crude oil.

Meanwhile, Türkiye shot down a ballistic missile from Iran on Friday. Turkey’s Defense Ministry said the missile had been shot down in Turkish airspace by NATO forces.