Addressing a press conference, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said that she and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar exchanged views on pressing global developments, including those in the Middle East, during their meeting.

“With your support, there is now a tenuous diplomatic opening to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” she said of Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

She added, however, that any temporary understanding between the US and Iran must be followed by deeper talks about Tehran’s nuclear stockpile and other issues. She expressed that the EU was “ready to contribute to a sustainable and peaceful solution”, bringing “economic leverage, hard-won nuclear expertise, longstanding relationships with partners across the Gulf and direct engagement with Iran itself”.

“I see a great role for the EU in helping to make any eventual agreement durable,” she added.