ISLAMABAD: Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Friday as part of Islamabad’s efforts to mediate between Iran and the United States, according to Pakistan’s military, amid intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional conflict.
The visit comes as Pakistan has assumed an increasingly active mediation role since the beginning of the war in late February following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with Islamabad maintaining close coordination with Tehran and Washington to help revive stalled negotiations and prevent further escalation.
“Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir ... arrived in Tehran as part of ongoing mediation efforts,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
The military said Munir was received by Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni upon arrival, while Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was also present at the reception.
Munir’s visit comes after several days of meetings in Tehran by Naqvi, who has held talks with senior Iranian officials as Islamabad stepped up diplomatic outreach linked to the conflict.
Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry also said on Friday evening Naqvi held a telephone conversation with the Kingdom’s Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef, during which the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest and security cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Sweden ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Friday that Pakistan was Washington’s “primary interlocutor” in efforts aimed at ending the conflict, adding that Islamabad had done “an admirable job.”
He also confirmed that Munir was traveling to Iran.
“We’re in constant communication with him at the highest levels of our government,” Rubio said.
The conflict and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass, have raised concerns over regional stability and global energy markets.
Pakistan has also been coordinating its diplomatic efforts with China, which has backed Islamabad’s mediation push and jointly promoted a five-point peace proposal calling for dialogue, a ceasefire, protection of civilian and nuclear facilities and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest diplomatic activity comes as efforts continue to revive negotiations between Tehran and Washington more than six weeks after an April 8 ceasefire, with key disputes remaining over sanctions relief, Iran’s uranium stockpile and shipping access through the Strait of Hormuz.
