ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday refuted reports that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared any intelligence regarding Iran’s nuclear programme during a meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Dar met with Rubio on May 29 during a brief visit to Washington, where the two discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional security issues. Rubio had praised Islamabad’s role “in advancing peace in the Middle East”.
Responding to queries during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad “categorically and unequivocally” rejected claims made in certain media reports that Dar shared any intelligence regarding Iran with Rubio.
“Such claims are entirely baseless, speculative, and appear to be aimed at undermining ongoing diplomatic efforts and the broader process of dialogue and engagement,” he said.
Emphasising that the discussion between Dar and Rubio “focused on regional peace, stability, and the importance of pursuing diplomatic solutions to ongoing challenges”, Andrabi asserted that “no intelligence was shared during the course of this dialogue”.
Welcoming the “continued engagement” of the US in peace efforts and its “positive role” in the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, he cautioned the media against “speculative and unwarranted reports”.
A journalist had asked Andrabi about media reports that Dar had allegedly shared intelligence with Rubio regarding Iran, “including possible signals such as withdrawal from the NPT and the development of a nuclear weapon”.
The reports, according to the journalist, had claimed that the information resulted in the US urging Israel to halt its attacks in Lebanon.
The question came after former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst Larry Johnson, quoting an unnamed source, claimed that Dar had a conversation with Rubio that “revealed what Iran is prepared to do to preserve its independence”, which allegedly “alarmed” Rubio.
Rubio had also responded to the claims during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. US Congressman Scott Perry asked him if Dar had delivered a message that Iran is “prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon should the current escalation continue”.
“I have not seen that reporting and I am not aware of any such message,” Rubio responded.
Perry again referred to the reports, to which Rubio said that no such message had been delivered.
“I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was,” he said.
The US-Iran conflict is currently stalemated in a shaky ceasefire struck in April, which was followed by historic direct talks between the warring parties hosted by Pakistan.
Though daily strikes throughout Iran and the Gulf have stopped since then, bursts of armed conflict have continued.
The US and Iran exchanged attacks on each other’s military targets on Monday. After the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran responded with a missile attack on Wednesday, damaging Kuwait’s airport and resulting in casualties.
Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region home to US military bases.
Meanwhile, Israel’s expanding front in Lebanon has proved to be the main spoiler in the peace process, with rising tensions even prompting US President Donald Trump to tell Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the attacks.
Nevertheless, diplomacy has continued with Trump under pressure to reach an agreement that would lift the US and Iranian competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, which have choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices.
