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Pakistan urges US, Iran to exercise restraint after overnight strikes

Pakistan has called on the US and Iran to exercise restraint after a series of overnight strikes raised fears of a renewed Middle East conflict. The appeal came from both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Foreign Office, which also urged all sides to honor the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 8–10, 2026 Published Aug 15

Pakistan Urges Restraint as US-Iran Tensions Escalate Following Overnight Strikes

Pakistan has appealed to the United States and Iran to show restraint after an escalation in hostilities that saw overnight strikes and counterattacks, raising concerns about a broader regional conflict. The call came from both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Foreign Office, which warned that a renewed war would serve no one's interests.

According to reports from Dawn, the latest violence began with Iranian attacks on at least three ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, prompting extensive US strikes on Iranian targets on Tuesday. Iran then retaliated with attacks on targets in Gulf countries. The back-and-forth exchanges mark another breakdown in a ceasefire that has been in place since April.

The Foreign Office issued a statement noting that "a renewed conflict is in no one's interest" and urged all parties to "exercise restraint and refrain from any actions that may further undermine regional peace and stability." The statement added that there was "no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy" to achieve a shared goal of peace. Islamabad also called on all sides to uphold their commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which it described as "an enduring foundation for understanding, mutual respect and shared prosperity for the region and beyond."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a similar appeal during a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the Prime Minister's Office. The premier expressed "deep concern" over the escalation and "underscored the urgent need to restore regional peace and stability," urging Iran and all other parties to avoid actions that could jeopardize the "hard-earned peace gains" of recent months. He also stressed the importance of the Islamabad MoU and assured Pezeshkian of Pakistan's readiness to play an "honest and sincere role" in facilitating dialogue between Washington and Tehran.

Key Claims

Pakistan's Foreign Office called on all parties to exercise restraint and warned that a renewed conflict is in no one's interest.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep concern over the escalation and urged Iran and others to preserve hard-earned peace gains.
Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz prompted extensive US strikes on Iranian targets, followed by Iranian retaliatory attacks on Gulf countries.
The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed after a previous round of strikes, gives both sides 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear program and mandates a complete halt to military operations.
Pakistan has played a central role in mediating between the US and Iran this year and has been repeatedly praised by the Trump administration for its involvement.
In a previous incident last month, the US carried out attacks in Iran after President Donald Trump said a US Apache helicopter had been downed; Iran responded by attacking bases and targets in the Gulf.
During the call, President Pezeshkian thanked Pakistani leaders for attending the funeral of late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and reaffirmed Iran's commitment to peace.

Perspectives

Pakistan (Government)

Pakistan, through its Prime Minister and Foreign Office, positions itself as a concerned mediator. It emphasizes dialogue, diplomacy, and adherence to the Islamabad MoU as the path to stability, while offering its services to facilitate talks between Washington and Tehran.

Iran (Government)

Iran, as conveyed through President Pezeshkian's conversation with PM Shehbaz, expressed appreciation for Pakistan's role and reaffirmed its own commitment to peace, even as it engaged in retaliatory strikes.

United States (Government)

The US, as reflected in President Trump's statements, views its strikes as responses to Iranian actions, including the downing of a US Apache helicopter. The US has repeatedly praised Pakistan's mediation efforts, though its perspective on the current escalation is limited in the reports.

Note: This article is based solely on reporting from Dawn. No independent verification of the events described has been conducted.

How this outlet told it

Dawn as of Jul 10, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC

Framing: Neutral — Concerned

Facts Included:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Iran and other parties to exercise restraint
Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz
US strikes on Iranian targets
Retaliatory attacks by Iran on Gulf countries
Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Pakistan's commitment to regional peace

Read the source article →

Dawn as of Jul 8, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC

Framing: Neutral — Concerned

Facts Included:

Pakistan expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East
Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz
US strikes on Iranian targets
Retaliatory attacks by Iran on Gulf countries
Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Iran and other parties to exercise restraint and not jeopardise the 'hard-earned peace gains' achieved over the past few months.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 10, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimIranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz prompted extensive US strikes on Iranian targets, which were followed by retaliatory attacks by Iran on Gulf countries.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 10, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimThe US carried out attacks in Iran in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 10, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimThe Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, which gave both sides 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and related issues.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 10, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC
ClaimPakistan expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East and called on the US and Iran to exercise restraint following mutual overnight strikes.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 8, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC
ClaimUS President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire was 'over' and warned that the US would hit Iran 'hard'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 8, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC
ClaimPakistan has played a central role in mediating between the US and Iran this year and has been repeatedly praised by the Trump administration for its involvement.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 8, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC
ClaimThe Islamabad MoU mandates a complete halt to military operations on all fronts.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Dawn as of Jul 10, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Dawn 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15