ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that continuous consultations between Tehran and Islamabad were essential for regional peace and security, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.

The statement comes amid renewed hostilities between the US and Iran in the Middle East. Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked ​10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.

Pakistan, a key mediator in talks between the US and Iran, led a diplomatic push together with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye to end the conflict which broke out on Feb. 28. The efforts led the parties to an interim peace deal in June, however, the understanding unraveled shortly afterwards, with both sides resuming attacks.

On Wednesday, FM Araghchi met Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Reza Amiri Moghadam, who presented a report on the latest status of bilateral relations and the embassy’s plans and actions to further strengthen and develop relations between the two neighboring countries, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

“Dr. Araqchi also appreciated the constructive role of the Pakistani leadership in facilitating the path of diplomacy and considered the continuation of consultations between the two countries essential to ensure mutual benefits and help ensure regional security and stability,” the news agency reported.

Iranian forces have restricted traffic through Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the start of the war with the United States on February 28. The US has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

The renewed attacks have sent the price of oil surging, with benchmark Brent crude futures breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July. At least one seafarer aboard a tanker was reported killed and another listed as missing.

In recent weeks Washington had boasted of increasing success guiding tankers through the strait, which carried a fifth of oil supplies before the war. But any such gradual reopening appears to have been set back by a resumption of fighting this month.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to all sides to “exercise utmost restraint” and avoid inflaming the already volatile situation in and near the Strait of Hormuz.