TEHRAN — Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir will visit Tehran on Monday for talks with senior Iranian officials, as Islamabad steps up mediation efforts aimed at reviving stalled negotiations between Iran and the United States.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei announced the visit on Sunday, saying Munir and an accompanying delegation would travel to the Iranian capital to strengthen bilateral cooperation and build on “Pakistan’s efforts to help strengthen peace and security in the region.”
Munir is expected to hold talks with senior Iranian officials during the visit, Baqaei said in remarks carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
The announcement follows a telephone conversation between Munir and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in which they discussed regional developments and efforts to strengthen peace, stability and security in West Asia.
The talks also covered ways to revive stalled direct negotiations between Tehran and Washington as mediators seek to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.
Pakistan, alongside Qatar, has played a key mediation role between Iran and the United States during the conflict and has maintained close contacts with both sides.
The latest diplomatic push comes following the expiration of a 60-day deadline for reaching a final agreement to end the conflict.
Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding in June and began negotiations toward a broader agreement, but talks later stalled over disagreements involving security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important routes for energy supplies and international trade.
The two sides subsequently exchanged military strikes between July 8 and July 24, with Washington attacking targets inside Iran and Tehran responding with strikes on US military facilities and equipment in several countries in the region.
Source: Saudi Gazette