Pakistan PM Says End Goal of US-Iran Talks Soon Reached

Iranian and US flags. (Wikimedia Commons/Sonia Sevilla/Makaristos)

JAKARTA - The Prime Minister of Pakistan said that the ultimate goal of the US-Iran talks would be achieved soon, after the escalation that occurred on Sunday and Monday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the ultimate goal in peace negotiations between Iran and the US "will be achieved soon," calling on all parties to the conflict to refrain.

Previously, Iran launched an attack on northern Israel on Sunday night, saying it was in response to an Israeli attack on Lebanese territory that it claimed targeted the Hezbollah group.

The attack was retaliated by Israel on Monday morning by launching an attack on Iranian territory.

The firing of missiles into Israel, which was responded to with air strikes on Iranian territory, has raised fears that the escalation could trigger a new full-scale conflict after the April 8 ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump later called on Iran and Israel to stop fighting, amid reports of his increasingly tense relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran later said it would end its latest military operation against Israel after the first exchange of fire between the two enemies since the fragile ceasefire began, but warned it could respond with more "devastating" strikes if the attack on Lebanon continued.

Israel itself then announced the end of the attack on Iran, one of its officials still ensuring that it would continue to fight the militant group Hezbollah.