The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Pakistan this month over an earlier invitation from the President of Pakistan.
The visit of the Iranian president is significant in various respects. It holds importance right from security cooperation to bilateral ties and trade agreements between the two countries also when Washington DC is on all its feet to recluse Iran from the entire world.
It has been reported that President Ebrahim Raisi is visiting Pakistan on April 22 and holding meetings with President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, and top brass of Pakistan’s military. This visit is also of vital importance to Pakistan and Iran’s efforts to deepen their cooperation that earlier this year thwarted temporarily when Pakistan in retaliation to Iran’s cross-border strikes carried out precision strikes targeting terrorists of a banned outfit inside the borders of Iran.
But it is important to note here that although Pakistan following this tension even withdrew its ambassador from Iran and didn’t allow the Iranian envoy to return to Pakistan as he was visiting his home country even then the situation between these two countries in a historically short time got normalized.
Another vitality of this visit of the Iranian president is about the economic interests of both countries particularly the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline and potential Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Last but not least, President Ebrahim Raisi is visiting Pakistan when tensions between Iran and Israel are on their rise on one hand and the other when yesterday the UN Security Council strongly voiced against Iran and stood with Israel.
Iran on late Saturday night launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation to an alleged Israeli airstrike on its Damascus consulate in Syria in which several people lost their lives including two commanders of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In yesterday’s UNSC session, Israel sought to declare the Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran a terrorist group and impose a ban on it.
Another development before this visit is that Iran has announced to release of Pakistanis stranded on a ship that Iranian forces had two days earlier seized in retaliation to an Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria. This ship was identified as the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries and is associated with the London-based Zodiac Maritime, a part of the Zodiac Group run by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer and his family. The helicopter that the IRGC used in this raid was reported to have appeared a Russian-designed Mil Mi-17.
However, the USA has earlier made it clear that it would not participate in any offensive action against Iran stating that it doesn’t seek a war with Iran. Importantly Mr. Ebrahim Raisi after the said attacks said that Iran had taught Israel a lesson and that any of the new adventures against Iran would be met with heavier force.
The USA is already busy in contacting Muslim countries including Turkey and the Middle East to get Iran reclused and Pakistan also has relations with it. How the USA is taking this visit of the Iranian president at this point? This question will become clear as Pakistan holds an important position in a region where Iran neighbors it.
Author: Senior journalist Rana Kashif
