WASHINGTON (AFP) — The foreign minister of Pakistan, Mehmood Qureshi, urged Iran on Monday to embrace overtures from the United States, saying his country wanted to avoid ""another major crisis in the region.""

Qureshi said he has shared his views with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and told him to seize on U.S. President Barack Obama's stated willingness to engage in dialogue to mend decades of fraught U.S.-Iranian ties.
""This administration has been extending the olive branch -- make use of it. Engage the world,"" Qureshi said.
Talking at Harvard University, Qureshi added Pakistan respects Iran's ""right to civilian use of (nuclear) technology.""
Pakistan has a mostly friendly relationship with Iran.