PAKISTAN and Iran need to intelligently chalk out their bilateral relations in a rapidly transforming international geopolitical environment to guard and maximize their respective national interests.
Islamabad needs to augment cooperation with Tehran in the security and economic spheres without compromising on its recent diplomatic positive reset with Washington. The improved understanding between Islamabad and Washington may contribute constructively to defusing tension between Iran and the United States. Currently, Iran and Pakistan are encountering three major obstacles—the US sanctions against Iran, terrorism and border security and trade management—in their bilateral relations.
The alarming puzzle is the American strategic pundits Cold War thinking and conclusion, the rise of QUAD, comprising China, Iran, North Korea and the Russian Federation. In reality, this QUAD does not exist. Neither China nor Russia supported Iran militarily during the June 12-day war in the Middle East. However, perceptions influence policymaking and execution. Pakistan has not completed and operationalized the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan to date, despite the former’s competition for its pipeline segment, covering 1,100 km and willingness to operationalize the project. The general perception is that if Pakistan pursues the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline construction, US sanctions will be levied against it.
Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, Iran has tried to cultivate better relations with India. However, during the Israel-Iran war and the United States’ strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025, New Delhi openly positioned itself on the side of the aggressors. India even blocked the SCO’s joint condemnation statement on Israeli military aggression in support of Iran. Conversely, Pakistan politically and diplomatically supported Iran. It strongly condemned Israeli aggression and US strikes and “declared its readiness to provide any necessary support for Iran’s territorial integrity as well as for the government and people of Iran.” Notably, during the military escalation between India and Pakistan from May 7 to 10, 2025, Iran supported Pakistan’s stance. These supportive overtures during the military crises testify to the recovery of strategic convergence between the neighboring states.
The long border between Iran and Pakistan provides a significant opportunity for enhancing bilateral trade. Ironically, the essential measures to facilitate border trade are insufficient. Both sides need to improve border trade facilities on a war footing to increase commercial activity along the border by operationalizing the planned six border markets and by removing border bottlenecks. Moreover, they have to intensify the law enforcement agencies’ cooperative apparatus to end drug trafficking, smuggling and the movement of militant groups in the region. These measures are imperative for the security and welfare of the communities residing in the border areas.
The unending menace of terrorism has the potential to jeopardize brotherly relations between Iran and Pakistan. In January 2024, the banned transnational terrorist organizations severely strained the relationship between the neighboring states. It had caused an exchange of military strikes between them. On January 16, 2024, Iran launched attacks in Pakistan, targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan. The Iranian strikes prompted strong condemnation from Islamabad and the downgrading of diplomatic ties. Islamabad recalled its Ambassador from Tehran and expelled the Iranian envoy in Islamabad. The high-level bilateral visits, both ongoing and planned, were canceled. Subsequently, on January 18, 2025, Pakistan launched precision military strikes (Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar) at seven terrorist organizations named Balochistan Liberation Army and Balochistan Liberation Front hideouts in the Sistan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian’s recent two-day visit has sparked hope for increased mutual trust and improved politico-economic and security cooperation between Iran and Pakistan. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Pezeshkian expressed their commitment to enhancing the bilateral trade in their joint statement. Last year, Islamabad and Tehran had agreed to increase trade over the next five years. President Pezeshkian has set an ambitious goal of elevating annual trade exchanges to $10 billion between Iran and Pakistan. While this is a challenging target, pursuing such a goal opens new business opportunities. It improves the facilitation processes for traders via land, air and sea, offering hope for the economic future of both nations.
Iran’s strategic partnership with China, including a $ 400 billion deal, has significant implications for its regional relations. Tehran’s interest in joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, particularly the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, presents a promising avenue for economic growth between the two neighboring states. On August 2, 2025, President Pezeshkian pronounced this potential, stating, “Through Pakistan, Iran can connect to the Silk Road linking China and Pakistan, and the route can then extend through Iran to Europe.” This vision of enhanced connectivity and economic prosperity fosters optimism for the future of Iran-Pakistan relations.
Pakistan and Iran Defense Ministers, Brig General Aziz Nasir-Zadeh and Mr. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, agreed in their bilateral meeting to intensify regional security cooperation, counterterrorism efforts and defense cooperation. The joint counterterrorism strategy could only ensure the eradication of terrorism on both sides of the shared border.
To conclude, Pakistan and Iran have multidimensional relationships and have immense potential for economic cooperation. The serious and joint efforts are vital to deepen their bilateral relations for the security and economic prosperity of the two nations.
—The writer is Prof at the School of Politics and IR, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
