Pakistan reacts to ex-CIA official’s claim that Dar shared information on Iran’s nuclear programme with Rubio

The Foreign Office (FO) has rejected reports that Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar disclosed any information regarding Iran’s nuclear programme to United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio during their meeting last week.

Dar met Rubio on May 29 during a brief visit to Washington DC, where the two discussed bilateral cooperation and regional security.

The meeting was followed by foreign media claims that the DPM exchanged with Rubio information about Iran’s nuclear programme, which remains a bone of contention between Washington and Tehran – also hampering a peace deal between the two sides.

During his weekly press briefing on Thursday, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected reports of the DPM exchanging any kind of information about Iran’s nuclear programme. “No such information was shared,” he said in response to the reports rooted in former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst Larry Johnson’s claims.

Larry had cited an unnamed source to claim that Dar had a conversation with Rubio that “revealed what Iran is prepared to do to preserve its independence”, which allegedly alarmed the US secretary of state.

On Wednesday, Rubio himself also addressed the claims after US Congressman Scott Perry asked whether Dar had delivered a message that Iran was “prepared to demonstrate a nuclear weapon should the current escalation continue”.

Rubio said that he had not seen the report and was not aware of any such message. When Perry pressed further, Rubio said no such message had been delivered. “I would be surprised if that message had been relayed. I would be aware of it if it was,” he said.

It may be noted that the US-Iran conflict remains caught in a shaky ceasefire struck in April, which was followed by direct talks between the two sides in Pakistan.

Though large-scale strikes have subsided, armed exchanges have continued.

Israel’s push in Lebanon has further complicated the peace process, however, unconfirmed reports have not hinted at the possibility of a peace deal by the end of this week.