An Iranian official began meetings Tuesday (July 21, 2026) with mediators in Pakistan as diplomats sought to salvage the collapsed interim deal between Iran and the United States, even as both countries continued to launch attacks for a 10th day of renewed fighting.

The visit by Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni comes as Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent days to resuscitate the deal. However, it remains unclear just what new arrangement could be reached to end the fighting.

West Asia war updates on July 21, 2026

Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday (July 21, 2026), forcing its crew to abandon the ship, while the United States conducted yet another round of airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic.

The 10 consecutive nights of U..S airstrikes haven’t compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world,” the U.S. State Department said in a new warning to Americans.

The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at nearly USD 90 a barrel and regular gasoline in the US climbed to an average of $4 a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall.

President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!”

Iranian official begins meetings in Pakistan

Momeni met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Momeni later met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Pakistan’s political leadership and Munir, who serves as both the chief of army staff and defense forces, have played a key role in brokering last month’s interim agreement between the United States and Iran. Islamabad has been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table to resolve outstanding issues under the June memorandum of understanding.

Authorities did not immediately release details of the meeting, which came as Tehran continued its attacks on Gulf Arab allies of the U.S.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.” It remains unclear whether Tehran will offer anything that Trump would consider “real.”

U.S. strikes come as ships attacked

The U.S. military’s Central Command said Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems.” It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran.

“American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait,” the command said.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard in Fars, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.

However, traffic through the strait has slowed to a crawl during the latest violence. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said only three ships transited the strait on Sunday.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The UKMTO separately reported Tuesday that another previously unknown attack on a ship took place early the previous day.

Iran strikes U.S. allies around the region

Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Jordan military’s said Tuesday (July 21, 2026) that Iran targeted it with five drones and three missiles, all of which were shot down. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Tuesday (July 21, 2026) afternoon as another Iranian barrage targeted the island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

In Kuwait, its Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said that Tehran had struck desalination and power plants for a fourth straight day on Monday night. Authorities said the attacks sparked fires and caused damage.

Some 90% of Kuwait’s drinking water comes from desalination, making the attacks a matter of life and death for the tiny nation.

U.S. strikes have been hitting electrical equipment in Iran as well, and Iranian officials also have said Americans targeted water facilities.

Published – July 21, 2026 10:45 pm IST

Islamabad:

Pakistan and Iran on Monday agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and discussed ways to promote bilateral ties at political, economic, trade and cultural levels, months after the two neighbours carried out tit-for-tat air strikes against alleged terrorist hideouts on rival lands.

Ebrahim Raisi, the first head of state of any country to visit Pakistan after the February 8 general elections, was welcomed by Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House where the Iranian leader inspected the Guard of Honour.

During their talks, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The two leaders also held discussions to increase trade and communication links between their countries, it added.

In the presence of Ebrahim Raisi and Shehbaz Sharif, the Iranian and Pakistani officials signed eight documents for promoting cooperation in various fields.

Addressing a joint press conference, President Raisi said that Iran and Pakistan have decided to increase the trade volume to USD 10 billion.

“We are committed to strengthening relations at the highest levels. The Economic and trade volume between Iran and Pakistan is not acceptable. We have decided as a first step to increase trade volume between our two countries to $10bn,” Ebrahim Raisi said.

In his remarks, Shehbaz Sharif said the entire Pakistani nation welcomes the visit of the Iranian President as he called for strengthening Pak-Iran ties despite challenges. “We have to keep this relationship strong despite the challenges we both face,” he said.

Shehbaz Sharif said he had detailed discussions with President Raisi on “religious, cultural, diplomatic, investment, and security matters” during their meeting.

He described Ebrahim Raisi as an “ocean of political intelligence and wisdom”, and said Iran would progress further under his leadership.

“Pakistan and Iran can prosper and our borders can see progress,” Shehbaz Sharif said, expressing hope that the shared border can adapt for trade and business.

He expressed hope for the relationship between the neighbours to be “firm and stable”, noting that today was an opportunity to “make this friendship a happy and prosperous one”.

During the joint press conference, Shehbaz Sharif raked up the Kashmir issue and thanked Iran for its stance. However, President Ebrahim Raisi refrained from mentioning Kashmir and instead talked about Iran’s support for those fighting against oppression especially in Palestine.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Raisi planted a tree on the lawn of the Prime Minister House as the world marked Earth Day on Monday.

The two countries signed an MoU for establishment of a special economic zone whilst another was signed for film exchanges and cooperation between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Organization of Cinema and audio visual affairs of Iran.

The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Ministry of Cooperatives, labours and social welfare of Iran as well as Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and National Standards Organization of Iran also signed MoUs of cooperation. An MoU was also signed on legal cooperation.

Later, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif unveiled the commemoration of naming one of the main streets of Islamabad after “Iran”.

President Raisi also met his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and discussed key regional and global developments, particularly the situation in the Middle East.

Separately, Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani met President Raisi and the two sides agreed to further expand parliamentary exchanges and to promote cultural cooperation and people-to-people ties.

A delegation of Pakistan-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group led by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq met with President Raisi and the two sides agreed to leverage parliamentary platforms to enrich and strengthen bilateral relations and promote people-to-people cooperation.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called on the Iranian President in Islamabad, where they discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, Radio Pakistan reported.

The two leaders “emphasised the importance of enhanced efforts to further consolidate bilateral relations in diverse fields”, it said, adding that they also “affirmed commitment to peace and constructive dialogue for resolving regional challenges”.

Ebrahim Raisi, who arrived in Pakistan on a three-day official visit to promote cooperation, was accorded a warm welcome at the Islamabad Airport and was received by Housing Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Mudassir Tipu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on social media platform X.

Ebrahim Raisi, the first Iranian president to visit Pakistan in eight years, is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation comprising the foreign minister and other members of the Cabinet and senior officials.

President Raisi will also visit Lahore and Karachi and meet with the provincial leadership, the Foreign Office said.

Pakistan and Iran enjoy strong bilateral ties anchored in history, culture and religion. This visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations, according to the Foreign Office.

Ebrahim Raisi is visiting Pakistan months after the cordial ties between the two neighbours suffered a setback when Tehran shocked Islamabad by carrying out airstrikes against alleged operative hideouts in the restive Balochistan province in January.

Pakistan swiftly responded by using killer drones and rockets to carry out “precision military strikes” against what it called “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Siestan-Balochistan province, killing 9 people.

However, the two sides acted fast to restrain tempers through diplomatic channels. Ebrahim Raisi’s visit is expected to further cement their ties.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Islamabad on April 22 to meet his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said, as the two countries seek to mend ties following deadly cross-border attacks this year.

Mr. Raisi will be accompanied by “a high-level delegation comprising the foreign minister… as well as a large business delegation,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The tit-for-tat missile strikes in January in the porous border region of Balochistan — split between the two nations — stoked regional tensions already inflamed by the Israel-Hamas war.

Tehran carried out the strikes against an anti-Iran group in Pakistan the same week it targeted Iraq and Syria.

Pakistan responded with a raid on “militant targets” in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, one of the few mainly Sunni Muslim regions in Shiite-dominated Iran.

Both countries have in the past accused each other of sheltering militants.

A visit to Islamabad by Tehran’s foreign minister led to the two sides pledging to improve dialogue and install liaison officers in both countries.

Sistan-Balochistan province has for years faced unrest involving cross-border drug-smuggling gangs and rebels from the Baloch ethnic minority, and Muslim extremists.

Raisi will also visit Lahore and Karachi to meet provincial leaders, according to the statement.

The countries will further strengthen ties and enhance cooperation in “trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts”, it added.

Pakistan is counting on a joint gas project with Iran to solve a long-running power crisis that has sapped its economic growth.

A $7.5-billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline intended to feed Pakistani power plants was inaugurated with great fanfare in March 2013.

But the project immediately stagnated following international sanctions on Iran.

Tehran has built its own section of the 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) pipeline, which should eventually link its South Pars gas fields to the Pakistani city of Nawabshah, near Karachi.

In February, Pakistan’s outgoing caretaker government approved the construction of an 80-kilometer section of the pipeline, primarily to avoid the payment of billions of dollars in penalties to Iran due to years of delays.

Washington has warned that Pakistan could face US sanctions, saying it does not support the pipeline going forward.