Mediator Pakistan 'doing utmost' to get US, Iran talking to halt war

Pakistan said Thursday it is making its "utmost" effort to bring Iran and the U.S. back to talks under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters that negotiations between the "parties" are ongoing to normalize the situation, particularly the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. "We are doing our utmost to bring all parties back to the Islamabad MoU ... so that all irritants can be removed in the light of the spirit of the agreement and the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement on June 22," Andrabi told reporters. He added that Pakistan was encouraging the countries to "fully adhere to their commitments to hold technical talks" under the agreement. Andrabi said that Islamabad will continue to support dialogue and diplomacy, maintaining that it remained the "only viable path forward." "We welcome all efforts aimed at sustaining cessation of hostilities and resumption of dialogue between Iran and the U.S.,” he said. He noted with concern that the security situation in the Middle East "remains precarious despite the relative calm of the past few days, which had rekindled hopes." Andrabi urged Washington and Tehran to exercise "maximum restraint and fully adhere to their commitment to resume technical-level talks" in line with the Islamabad MoU and the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a cease-fire in April and subsequently the Islamabad MoU in Switzerland. However, the latest hostilities have cast the future of the agreement into doubt.