• Shehbaz, Rubio agree to deepen ties, focus on trade.
• PM reaffirms Pakistan’s role in promoting Middle East peace.
• Rubio backs Islamabad’s efforts, vows support for regional cooperation.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday praised the United States for helping broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, crediting President Donald Trump’s leadership for the breakthrough.

His remarks came during a cordial phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which both sides discussed bilateral ties and regional developments.

According to an official release, the prime minister also thanked Secretary Rubio for Washington’s role in helping facilitate the Pakistan-India ceasefire, calling it a meaningful contribution to regional stability.

They agreed to continue working closely to strengthen Pakistan-US relations, with a focus on expanding trade and economic cooperation.

Discussing the wider Middle East situation, Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to playing a constructive role in promoting peace across the region.

Secretary Rubio welcomed Pakistan’s efforts and expressed the United States’ interest in collaborating to ensure long-term regional stability.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, in a statement issued later, said Secretary Rubio spoke today with PM Shehbaz regarding events in the Middle East. 

“Secretary Rubio emphasised Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon. The two leaders acknowledged the importance of working together to promote a durable peace between Israel and Iran and maintain regional stability,” Bruce added.

Iran-Israel conflict

Israel’s bombing campaign, launched with a surprise attack on June 13, wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military leadership and killed leading nuclear scientists. 

Iran responded with missiles that pierced Israel’s defences in large numbers for the first time.

Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed and nearly 5,000 injured in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on media. 

Twenty-eight people were killed in Israel.

Israel claimed to have achieved its goals of destroying Iran’s nuclear sites and missiles; Iran claimed to have forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defences.

During the war, both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump publicly suggested that it could end with the toppling of Iran’s entire system of clerical rule, established in its 1979 revolution.

But after the ceasefire, Trump said he did not want to see “regime change” in Iran, which he said would bring chaos at a time when he wanted the situation to settle down.

However, in both Iran and Israel, residents expressed relief at the end of the fighting, but also apprehension.