ISLAMABAD/TEHRAN: Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, visited Tehran on Tuesday as Islamabad seeks to revive stalled dialogue between the United States and Iran.
Reuters reported the visit citing a Pakistani official and Iranian media, while Iran’s state news agency IRNA confirmed that the defence chief had left for Tehran on Tuesday. SUCH TV reported that he had arrived in the Iranian capital for talks with Iranian officials. There was no confirmation of the visit from the Pakistani side at the time of reporting.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the discussions “relate to issues concerning the negotiations, but they are mainly focused on bilateral relations and strengthening interactions and cooperation” between Islamabad and Tehran, according to AFP via Arab News.
Pakistan has played a mediating role this year in the conflict between the United States and Iran that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Islamabad brokered a short-lived memorandum of understanding in June, but the deal collapsed in July and efforts to restart dialogue have since remained stalled.
Iran wants its ports blockade lifted, oil-export sanctions eased and hostilities ended, while Washington wants the nuclear programme addressed as a priority. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran’s offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days remains on the table, pending a response from Washington.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, addressing the Global Security Forum in Doha on Monday, said peace between the US and Iran required patience, trust and sustained effort, adding that Pakistan had made every possible effort to bring both sides to the table.
