NEW YORK — Top Pakistani and Iranian diplomats met in New York to discuss the latest developments following recent talks between Washington and Tehran, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in an official statement on Thursday.Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the statement said.It comes a day after the US and Iranian negotiators held hours-long talks in New York to discuss ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and revive the long-stalled direct talks under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.The two ministers discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international developments.Dar underscored the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and sustained engagement in promoting regional peace and stability.Both sides agreed to remain in “close” contact, the statement added.Iranian officials held three hours of talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump disclosed on Tuesday.He said there would a further meeting in the very near future.Witkoff said he felt very good about the meeting, the first such contact since the US Vice President JD Vance met an Iranian delegation to agree a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland in June.Iranian officials confirmed the meeting with Witkoff involved Araghchi and was mediated by diplomats from Qatar.A senior Iranian official also indicated that the country was prepared to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week, as long as the US took reciprocal steps to ease the military and economic pressure it is applying on Iran.Previously, Iran had set seven onerous preconditions for lifting its blockade on the strait, one of the world’s key oil shipping routes, including an end to the US war “on all fronts” and a commitment by the US to end all aggressive actions against Iran, including sanctions.
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