ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi will arrive in Islamabad today, Monday, for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations and the evolving Middle East situation, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said, amid Tehran’s surging tensions with Israel.

Araghchi’s Islamabad visit takes place after last month’s escalation in hostilities between Iran and Israel, with both countries firing missiles at each other. Israel carried out strikes against Iran on Oct. 26, saying it was responding to missile attacks conducted by Tehran earlier in the month.

Since the deadliest attack in its history on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza and since late September, it has been at war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran. Pakistan, a major ally of Saudi Arabia, shares a long border with Iran.

“Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrives in Pakistan today on a two-day official visit,” Baloch wrote on social media platform X. “The two sides will discuss the situation in the Middle East and Pakistan-Iran bilateral relations.”

Baloch said the Iranian envoy will meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Daq during his visit to the country. 

Pakistan and Iran have had a rocky relationship despite several commercial pacts between them related to trade, energy and security cooperation. Both countries signed the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project agreement in 2004 but 20 years on, the project remains incomplete. Tehran has completed the pipeline’s construction on its side of the border while Pakistan is seeking a US waiver to go ahead with it due to sanctions targeting Iran. 

Araghchi’s visit takes place hours after an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general and pilot were killed in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in the Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan. 

Pakistan and Iran are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both countries routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.

Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan in April on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and easing tensions. The two sides also signed memorandums of understanding in the fields of trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters.