Islamabad, Apr 15: Pakistan’s Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir reached Tehran on Wednesday for talks with the Iranian leadership as part of his country’s efforts to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran.
Munir is part of a delegation that includes Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the military, said in a statement.
“Field Marshal Asim Munir… and Mr Mohsin Naqvi, Interior Minister, along with the delegation, arrive at Tehran as part of the ongoing mediation efforts,” it said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the delegation members upon their arrival in Tehran, according to the Iranian media.
“The purpose of the visit is to deliver a US message to the Iranian leadership and to plan the next round of negotiations,” Iran’s state-run Press TV reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei in Tehran confirmed that the exchange of messages continued with the US through Pakistan after Islamabad talks over the weekend ended without a breakthrough.
“Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run Irna news agency.
He said that if negotiations are “based on one side imposing conditions on the other, that is not negotiation; that is dictation and imposition. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian nation will never accept such imposition.”
The diplomatic push comes as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embarked on official visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye on Wednesday.
Citing sources, Geo News reported that officials and security agencies in Pakistan have been instructed to make necessary administrative and security arrangements ahead of the next round of talks.
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump said that a second round of talks with Iran could be held in Islamabad “over the next two days”.
“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump told The New York Post.
PM Shehbaz’s visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be in the bilateral context, where the Prime Minister will meet the leadership of the two countries to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation as well as regional peace and security, the Foreign Office said.
The visits are part of an effort to facilitate the US and Iran to reach a deal to end the ongoing conflict.
The US and Iran held rare direct talks in Pakistan over the weekend aimed at ending their conflict, but the talks ended early Sunday without any agreement.
US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, said the talks failed to reach a deal, citing Tehran not forgoing its nuclear programme as one of the key sticking points.
Iran, however, said that the Islamabad talks failed due to “excessive demands” made by the American side.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian Parliament Speaker who led his country’s delegation in marathon peace talks, said that his team raised “forward-looking initiatives, but the opposite side ultimately failed to win the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”
According to Pakistani officials, the second round is expected in the coming days for which Pakistan has been making all-out efforts.
The conflict began after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, paralysing global energy markets and disrupting trade. (PTI)
