LAHORE: Shahanshah Mohammad Reza Pehlavi Aryamehr has said that the question of zones of peace is a cardinal policy of Iran and we shall support zones of peace and non-nuclear armaments anywhere in the world. [He] was speaking at a banquet in his and in … Shahbanou Farah [Pehlavi’s honour] by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto at the … Lahore Fort ... this evening [March 9].

The Shahanshah … said: “We had proposed zone of non-nuclear weapons in the Middle East that [PM] Bhutto had supported wholeheartedly.” He said he had always stood for settling all kinds of disputes between countries, neighbouring and even far away, through peaceful negotiations. His Imperial Majesty said: “We have tried to be helpful wherever we could in bringing countries together and avoiding unnecessary clashes. We have come to this conclusion that this is a changing world and it must change.” …

He … said for him friendship with Pakistan came in a very natural way. “We do not have to give any reason for this friendship. It is normal, it is natural, it is in the interest of both countries.” — News agencies

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026