Pakistan urges all parties to give diplomacy ‘a little more chance’ at UN Security Council

Pakistan on Wednesday urged all parties to exercise restraint and give diplomacy “a little more chance” amid rising tensions in the Middle East, warning that recent events have highlighted the risk of further escalation.

Addressing a UN Security Council briefing on non-proliferation, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said Islamabad was “deeply concerned” over the current situation in the region marked by heightened tensions.

“The events of recent days have amply underlined the fragility of the situation, the risk of escalation and the need for diplomatic efforts to bear fruit sooner rather than later,” he told the council.

The ambassador said the recent rise in violence in the Middle East was “a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it can have.”

“The cycle of violence and instability must end for the sake of regional and international peace, security and prosperity,” he added.

Referring to the Iranian nuclear issue, Iftikhar said the latest hostilities had complicated diplomatic efforts and affected the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Unfortunately, the breakdown of diplomacy and the outbreak of hostilities have also impacted consideration of the Iran nuclear issue, further separating the parties on this complex issue,” he said.

He added that the conflict had also “disrupted the IAEA’s crucial verification mandate.”

Reaffirming Pakistan’s position, the ambassador said Islamabad supported resolution of all outstanding issues through dialogue and negotiations.

“We reaffirm our support for the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the Iran nuclear issue, through peaceful means, diplomatic engagement and sustained dialogue,” he said.

Iftikhar said Pakistan believed that “diplomacy and dialogue should be the guiding principles” to achieve negotiated solutions to contentious issues.

Highlighting Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, he said Islamabad had worked with international partners to help reduce tensions and foster negotiations.

“Pakistan, along with its partners, initiated diplomatic efforts to stop the war and bring the parties to the table,” he said.

The ambassador added that Pakistan had been involved in efforts to support “the reduction of tensions, the ceasefire and the broader pursuit of stability in the region.”

The Pakistani envoy also referred to what he described as the “Islamabad Talks”, saying that Pakistan appreciated both sides for engaging in dialogue.

“We thank both sides for reposing trust in Pakistan and engaging in dialogue to achieve a ceasefire and participating in the ‘Islamabad Talks’, the highest-level direct engagement between the United States and Iran for more than four decades,” he said.

According to the ambassador, Pakistan had maintained contacts with both Tehran and Washington, as well as several regional and international partners.

He said Islamabad sought to foster dialogue, facilitate the exchange of messages and help create spaces and conditions conducive to meaningful negotiations.

Iftikhar said Pakistan’s efforts were aimed at “breaking the momentum of hostilities, saving lives and giving diplomacy a chance.”

He described Pakistan’s approach as reflecting a “steadfast commitment to regional stability and international peace” and a preference for “principled, dialogue-oriented diplomacy” in addressing geopolitical disputes.

Concluding his remarks, the ambassador urged all parties to avoid actions that could undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts.

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“As we work seriously and thoroughly, together with our friends and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially as the ultimate goal is about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” he said.

And he added: “Let us continue to travel the path of peace and diplomacy, because it has bright prospects for success, something in which the international community has placed its hopes.”

Iran nuclear program

Five days ago, the UN nuclear watchdog sent a report to member states with no major changes in its assessment of Iran’s nuclear program, despite three months of war between the United States and Israel with the stated goal of preventing Iran from building an atomic bomb.

In its first report on Iran’s nuclear program since the day before the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February, the IAEA repeated calls for Tehran to explain the fate of its stockpile of enriched uranium. The uranium has not been accounted for since an earlier bombing campaign between the United States and Israel targeted Iran’s main nuclear sites a year ago.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly cited the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program as one of their main goals when launching new attacks in late February.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has been a major sticking point in negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war, and Trump insisted that Iran abandon them. Lately efforts have focused on a preliminary agreement that would leave nuclear issues for later.

The confidential report on Iran was one of two issued on June 5 and seen by Reuters ahead of next week’s quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors. They showed very little change from previous reports from late February, just before the last war.

“The Director General (of the IAEA) has emphasized to Iran that it is indispensable and urgent to effectively implement the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) Safeguards Agreement… and that its implementation cannot be suspended by Iran under any circumstances,” says the report seen by Reuters saying.

The IAEA has been unable to return to the nuclear sites that Israel and the United States bombed last June. Iran has yet to inform the IAEA about the fate of its stockpiles of low- and highly-enriched uranium (LEU and HEU), including uranium enriched up to 60% purity, a step away from approximately 90% weapons-grade.

The region has been on edge since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February, prompting Iranian retaliation against Israel and other countries in the region that host American assets.

A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations subsequently stalled amid disputes over its implementation and subsequent regional developments, even as Trump extended the truce indefinitely.

An agreement to completely end the US-Israel war against Iran has proven elusive, and Iran insists that any negotiations to address its nuclear program come after a complete end to the war.