ISLAMABAD, March 8: President Gen Pervez Musharraf telephoned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday night and exchanged views with him on important issues, with specific emphasis on his Middle East peace initiative, to allay Iran’s concerns about it.

The telephone call to his Iranian counterpart appears to have been prompted by reservations expressed by Iran about a meeting of foreign ministers of seven Muslim countries and the

OIC secretary-general in Islamabad on Feb 25.

Last week, the Iranian president had said at a press conference in Riyadh that all countries in the Gulf region viewed as “a matter of concern” the meeting of foreign ministers held in Islamabad.

Later, the Iranian foreign ministry also noted there were certain ambiguities and questions about it.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office on Thursday said that the president informed his Iranian counterpart about the recent meeting of Muslim foreign ministers in Islamabad and his efforts for resolving the problems and reduction of tensions in the Middle East and promoting understanding and harmony in the Islamic world.

The president held out the assurance that Pakistan would always guard Iran’s interests.Reports from Tehran suggest that President Musharraf’s Middle East peace initiative was being widely looked upon with suspicion and an influential Iranian cleric has called it a pro-American move to isolate Iran. The Iranian media has also been cautioning against it.

On Monday Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam strongly rejected the notion that it was directed against Iran.

“Any suggestion that this initiative could be against Iran is not correct, it’s absurd,” she categorically stated.

Iran has not been included in the core group of seven Muslim countries because it is opposed to the Beirut initiative of 2002, it is learnt.

According to a Foreign Office statement, the president also welcomed the Iranian President’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with King Abdullah, which he believed would bring down tensions in the Gulf.

“He expressed the confidence that the visit will strengthen the understanding between two important neighbours and have a positive influence on the situation in the region,” it said.

In this context the president underscored that Pakistan had always desired peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region.