Portugal Voices Support for Pakistan's Iran Mediation Push

(MENAFN) Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel held a telephone conversation with Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar on Monday, extending Lisbon's backing for Islamabad's diplomatic efforts to broker a resolution to the escalating Middle East conflict fueled by ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

"Portugal expressed its full support for Pakistan's mediation and negotiation efforts, as well as those of other friendly countries in the region," the Portuguese Foreign Ministry announced via the social media platform X.

The ministry's statement further noted that Rangel commended the "intense coordination of the Pakistani government with the international community, sharing serious concern over the global economic consequences of the conflict and its humanitarian repercussions."

Pakistan has positioned itself as a key diplomatic bridge in the crisis. Last month, Dar indicated that Islamabad would be "honored" to host dialogue between Washington and Tehran as part of wider mediation initiatives. The South Asian nation also convened a quadrilateral foreign ministers' meeting as part of those broader efforts.

The US and Israel have sustained an unrelenting air offensive against Iran since Feb. 28, a campaign that has claimed more than 1,400 lives, among them then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has answered with waves of drone and missile strikes directed at Israel and extending to Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states hosting US military installations, inflicting casualties, damaging critical infrastructure, and sending shockwaves through global markets and international aviation networks.

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