Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrives in Iran as tensions rise in Gulf

Imran Khan was also expected to travel to Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Iran on Sunday following a request from the United States and Saudi Arabia for him to try to defuse rising tensions in the Gulf.

Khan's office said his visit was part of an initiative "to promote peace and security in the region", and that he would hold talks with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

Video Footage :: Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI meets President of Iran Mr. Hassan Rouhani at Tehran#Pakistan???? #Iran???? pic.twitter.com/yr6vs29W9N
- PTI (@PTIofficial) October 13, 2019

Khan landed in Tehran and was greeted at the airport by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif before going into a meeting with Rouhani, an AFP correspondent reported.

It is his second visit this year to Iran, which shares a border of about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) with Pakistan.

Last week, a spokesman for Pakistan's foreign office said Khan was also expected to travel to Saudi Arabia, without providing further details.
Khan said last month that both the United States and Saudi Arabia had asked him to mediate with Iran to calm tensions in the Gulf.
Pakistan has strong relations with Saudi Arabia, with more than 2.5 million of its nationals living and working in the Kingdom.
Khan met both Rouhani and US President Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly last month, shortly after he visited Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.

• MENA