Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the 17th heads-of-state summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, on 4 July. In his plenary remarks, he said the group should deepen trade and infrastructure ties to counter “external pressures” and advance economic self-reliance across the 10-nation bloc. On the sidelines of the meeting, Pezeshkian held separate talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Discussions centred on expanding energy, transit and banking links, according to official readouts, with the Iranian leader calling closer cooperation with neighbouring and Muslim countries a cornerstone of his administration. Referring to last month’s 12-day war between Iran and Israel, Pezeshkian told Rahmon that the Iranian armed forces had “taught the Israeli regime a big lesson” and prevented the hostilities from spreading. He added that Tehran remains committed to negotiations as long as “the other side demonstrates its adherence in practice,” reiterating support for the cease-fire that ended the fighting. Pezeshkian said the same outlook guided talks with Sharif, during which he praised Pakistan’s role in regional peacemaking and pledged to coordinate on border security and trade. After completing the bilateral meetings and his address to the summit, the Iranian president returned to Tehran on Friday evening.