ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian this week in Tehran, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported, to discuss regional tensions and bilateral cooperation. 

The meeting took place on Monday as regional tensions persist. While the US and Iran have not exchanged any fresh attacks in the Middle East, tensions remain with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight. The Middle East has been embroiled in further turmoil this month as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, injuring over 80 people and disturbing the operations of a major oil pipeline. 

Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Monday for a two-day visit to the country. He met his Irani counterpart Iskandar Momeni to discuss regional developments and bilateral ties, the Pakistani interior ministry said. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has described Iran and Pakistan as two 'powerful countries in the region that possess immense human capacities and rich resources,'" IRNA reported about Naqvi's meeting with the Iranian president on Monday. 

"If we combine these capacities and join hands, we can meet many of our needs by relying on domestic and regional capabilities."

Pezeshkian noted that back-to-back meetings between senior officials from the Iranian and Pakistani governments in the past few  months are a "clear sign" of continuous interaction between the two states amid increased US interventions in the region, IRNA said. 

He stressed the importance of joint investments and closer ties between different sectors of the two countries, IRNA reported. Pezeshkian said facilitating economic cooperation and expanding interactions could further deepen relations between Tehran and Islamabad.

"Naqvi, for his part, said Iran-Pakistan relations have never been at such a high level and that Islamabad is determined to further develop and enhance relations and cooperation with Tehran in all fields," the statement said. 

Naqvi's Iran visit takes place as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in the backdrop of regional tensions. 

While talks remain suspended between the US and Iran so far, the two sides have maintained contact. Iran’s top negotiator said on Sunday that Tehran had conveyed to Washington through mediators its conditions for reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“Our messages and the explanation of our conditions have been clearly conveyed to the other party through mediators,” said Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has acted as chief negotiator in talks to end the war.

Pakistan emerged as a key mediator in the US-Iran war, hosting rare, direct talks between the parties and helping reach an interim peace deal in June. However, the peace deal quickly fell apart, and both sides resumed attacks against each other in the Middle East.