PAKISTAN and Iran need to intelligently chalk out their bilateral relations in a rapidly transforming international geopolitical environment to guard and maximize their respective national interests.

Islamabad needs to augment cooperation with Tehran in the security and economic spheres without compromising on its recent diplomatic positive reset with Washington. The improved understanding between Islamabad and Washington may contribute constructively to defusing tension between Iran and the United States. Currently, Iran and Pakistan are encountering three major obstacles—the US sanctions against Iran, terrorism and border security and trade management—in their bilateral relations.

The alarming puzzle is the American strategic pundits Cold War thinking and conclusion, the rise of QUAD, comprising China, Iran, North Korea and the Russian Federation. In reality, this QUAD does not exist. Neither China nor Russia supported Iran militarily during the June 12-day war in the Middle East. However, perceptions influence policymaking and execution. Pakistan has not completed and operationalized the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Pakistan to date, despite the former’s competition for its pipeline segment, covering 1,100 km and willingness to operationalize the project. The general perception is that if Pakistan pursues the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline construction, US sanctions will be levied against it.

Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, Iran has tried to cultivate better relations with India. However, during the........

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