Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday the country’s leaders would continue mediation efforts to end war between the United States and Iran despite a surge in conflict, calling for a “negotiated settlement.”
“Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the situation in the region marked by recent escalation… we are of the view that diplomacy and dialogue should be the guiding principles for achieving a negotiated settlement of all contentious issues,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told journalists.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s military said it had intercepted 20 missiles launched from Iran, after Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards announced they had fired at a US command center in the kingdom.
“At dawn on Thursday, Jordanian air defense systems and the Royal Jordanian Air Force intercepted and shot down 20 missiles that had been launched from Iran towards the Azraq area in Zarqa governorate,” a statement quoted a military official as saying, referring to an area about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Amman.
“The interception resulted in the fall of a number of fragments, without any human casualties or material damage,” the statement added.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl suffered minor injuries and homes and cars were damaged in Iranian attacks on Thursday.
Similarly, a tanker near the blockaded Strait of Hormuz suffered a fire in its engine room, a marine monitoring agency said, without revealing the cause of the blaze.
“Local authorities have reported a tanker has experienced a fire in the engine room,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. The incident happened 21 nautical miles northeast of Sohar in Oman, it added.
In a related development, New Delhi’s shipping minister said three Indian sailors on a commercial vessel hit by the United States off the coast of Oman are dead.
“It is deeply unfortunate to learn of the tragic incident aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello,” Sarbananda Sonowal said in a statement, referring to the strike on the vessel a day earlier. (AFP)
