https://arab.news/b38vn
- Field Marshal Asim Munir is in Tehran amid Islamabad’s renewed push to broker peace in the Middle East
- Pakistani military commander notes the war will bring nothing, says an ‘agreement can be reached soon’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir has urged an end to the United States–Iran war during talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian government said on Friday, as Islamabad intensifies its role as a key mediator seeking to turn a fragile ceasefire into lasting peace.
Pakistan’s powerful military commander is in Iran to press for an end to the US-Israeli war on Iran, following a two-week ceasefire between the two countries reached on April 8 and high-level negotiations between US and Iranian officials in Islamabad over the weekend.
In his meeting with Pezeshkian, Munir said while the ongoing war would end, the region might not “return to its previous conditions,” contending that all states must “work together for reconstruction, stability, and lasting peace,” according to the Iranian government.
“China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkiye support diplomatic efforts during this crisis,” the Iranian government quoted Munir as saying in an X post. “An agreement can be reached soon. This war brings nothing but destruction and loss.”
Pezeshkian said Iran sought “peace, stability, and brotherly ties in the region.”
“Iranian people do not trust the US due to repeated violations of commitments,” he was quoted as saying. “Iran insists on securing its rights within international law and values Pakistan’s role in mediation, the ceasefire process, and hosting the Iranian delegation in Islamabad.”
Washington and Tehran remained divided on key issues during the Apr. 11 talks in Islamabad. These issues included Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief and the future of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy route that Tehran has blocked since Israel and the US went to war with it in late February.
While Munir arrived in Iran this week, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye in fresh efforts to broker peace, following the conclusion of US-Iran talks in Islamabad without an agreement.
Islamabad’s renewed diplomatic efforts have raised hopes of a breakthrough in the conflict, which has seen Iran attack Israel and US interests as well as oil and other infrastructure in Gulf countries.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he “might” go to Islamabad if a peace deal with Iran is signed there, saying that the next round of in-person discussions may take place over the weekend.
Trump heaped praise on Pakistani officials, saying that “Pakistan has been great” throughout the Iran war.
“The field marshal has been great, the prime minister has been really great in Pakistan,” he said. “So I might go. They want me to.”
The White House press secretary also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the US and Iran, saying that Islamabad was the “only mediator” in the ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran.