Asim Munir to visit Iran as Pakistan makes fresh push to revive US-Iran peace talks
Pakistan is making another push to revive stalled US-Iran peace talks, with Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir set to visit Tehran on Monday for discussions on bilateral and regional issues.
Iran's Foreign Ministry announced the visit on Sunday, saying Munir will travel with a delegation for high-level talks with the Iranian leadership. The visit comes as Islamabad seeks to restart diplomatic efforts aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Munir's visit would focus on strengthening cooperation between Iran and Pakistan and continuing Islamabad's efforts to promote peace and security in the region.
Pakistan has not yet officially commented on the visit.
Pakistan's latest attempt to revive talks
The visit comes after an interim peace agreement, signed with Pakistan as a guarantor, stalled last month as tensions between the US and Iran escalated and military strikes resumed.
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Pakistan had earlier stepped up its diplomatic engagement with Tehran. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran earlier this month as Islamabad sought to keep its mediation efforts alive.
Munir's visit is being seen as another high-level effort by Pakistan to bring the two sides back to negotiations.
The stalled process followed a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the US and Iran in June, which was intended to create a 60-day window for high-level talks aimed at restoring peace in West Asia. The negotiations, however, collapsed after tensions escalated again in mid-July.
Pakistan's efforts to revive the talks have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
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Strait of Hormuz remains a key sticking point
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the major challenges as diplomatic efforts continue. Shipping through the strategic Gulf chokepoint has been disrupted by the conflict that began on February 28 after joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran triggered retaliatory strikes.
Under normal conditions, roughly one-fifth of the world's total energy supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, making the disruption a major regional and global concern.
With PTI inputs