Both sides continue to cooperate economically where possible and have formed alliances in a number of areas of mutual interest, such as fighting the drug trade along their border and combating the insurgency in the Balochistan region.

After the U.S. complete withdrawal of its troops and the Taliban return to power in the 2020s, Pakistan has stepped up cooperation with Iran to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan,[1] with both sides arguing that it should not be used for geopolitical rivalry.

[9] Imperial Iran maintained close relations with Pakistan during the Cold War, partly owing to their mutual alliance with the United States-led Western Bloc.

[11] Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey joined the United States-sponsored Central Treaty Organization, which extended a defensive alliance along with the Soviet Union's southern perimeter.

[16] The government of then-Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared its belief that, as in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, India was once again behind the unrest and uprising of rebels in the Balochistan region.

[14] Pakistan was a developing country and small power while Iran, in the 1960-70s, had the world's fifth-largest military, a strong economic/industrial base and was the clear, undisputed regional superpower.

[11] The new military dictatorship government, under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, was ideologically ultraconservative and religiously oriented in its nature and approach in contrast to the more secular Iran at the time.

Responding swiftly to this revolutionary change, Foreign Minister of Pakistan Agha Shahi immediately undertook a state visit to Tehran, meeting with his Iranian counterpart Karim Sanjabi on 10 March 1979.

[26] In support of the Gulf Cooperation Council that was formed in 1981, around 40,000 personnel of the Pakistan Armed Forces were stationed in Saudi Arabia to reinforce the internal and external security of the region.

[26] The killing of Shi'a pilgrims in the 1987 Mecca incident in Saudi Arabia had met with widespread disturbances and condemnation throughout Pakistan, but Zia-ul-Haq remained firmly neutral and strongly issued orders against engaging any involved parties to Pakistani military personnel stationed in the Gulf.

In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the pro-Soviet, communist Afghan government against Islamist uprisings, protect its interests in Central Asia and also as a response to established or growing American influence/dominance in the Middle East – notably in Israel, Iran (until the 1979 revolution), Iraq, and many other Arab states.

[21] The Pakistani-backed Taliban fought the Iranian-backed Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and gained control of 90 percent of the country, including the capital city of Kabul.

Though Iranian officials initially welcomed the invasion and deposition of the Taliban, they soon found themselves encircled by U.S. forces in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf.

[12] George W. Bush's inclusion of the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of an "axis of evil" (alongside Iraq and North Korea) also led some Iranian officials to presume that Tehran might be next in line for regime change, ending whatever détente had occurred in Iran–U.S.

[12] Nevertheless, changes in geopolitics have increased strategic convergence between the two countries,[41] Iran has also expressed an interest in joining the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor as part of the larger Belt and Road Initiative.

[55] Both Iran and Pakistan face attacks by Baloch separatist militants in restive Balochistan region, leading to souring relations and mutual recriminations.

[65] On January 16, 2024, Iran carried out an operation targeting the headquarters of Balochi terrorist group Jaish al-Adl with drone and missile strikes, on Pakistani soil, killing 2 children.

[71] Due to international sanctions and poor infrastructure in border areas, the potential of bilateral trade has not been fully realized, and there are problems with smuggling and drug trafficking.

[84] The fruit industry of Pakistan has reportedly lost a lucrative market in Iran, where at least 30,000 tons of mango were exported previously, as a result of the trade embargo imposed by the United States on Tehran.

[87] Turkey marked the launch of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Road Transport Corridor Project, with a welcoming ceremony in Istanbul for a convoy of Pakistani commercial trucks.

The first two National Logistics Company (NLC) trucks carrying goods from Pakistan reached Turkey via Iran, under the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention.

In February 2007, India and Pakistan agreed to pay Iran US$4.93 per million BTUs (US$4.67/GJ) but some details relating to price adjustment remained open to further negotiation.

On 19 November 2010, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appealed to Muslims worldwide to back the freedom struggle in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, equating the dispute with the ongoing conflicts of the Greater Middle East region.

The thrust of his speech was directed at Israel, India, and the US, but also made a veiled reference to Pakistan's nuclear program: "The US and the West are no longer the unquestionable decision-makers of the Middle East that they were two decades ago.

In the changing security environment, Pakistan and Iran boosted their ties by maintaining the warmth in the relationship without taking into account the pressures from international actors.

Since 2010, there has been an increase in meetings between senior figures of both governments as they attempt to find a regional solution to the Afghan war and continue discussions on a proposed Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline and an Economic Cooperation Organization.

[125] In April 2001, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rowhani paid a state visit to Pakistan and met with Pervez Musharraf and his cabinet.

[146] As in return, Jamali paid a state visit in 2003 where he held talks with economic cooperation, security of the region, and better bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran.

[148] On 13 October 2019, Imran Khan and Hassan Rouhani have held talks in Tehran, as part of a Pakistani initiative to defuse rising tensions in the Gulf and mediate between regional foes, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Raisi holds talks with top Pakistani leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as the two neighbours seek to mend ties after Cross-border missile attacks in January.