Defusing tensions: PM upbeat about Saudi, Iran fence mending

ISLAMABAD / TEHRAN: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said both Saudi Arabia and Iran have responded ‘positively’ to Pakistan’s mediation offer as he proposed a series of measures, including appointment of ‘focal persons’ by three countries, to defuse tensions between the two key Muslim countries.

Accompanied by army chief General Raheel Sharif and his foreign policy aide Tariq Fatemi, the prime minister flew into Tehran from Riyadh on Tuesday as part of a diplomatic effort to de-escalate tensions between the two countries.