- Two govt sources confirmed Munir’s visit to Reuters.
- First source says Iran, Pakistan are in direct contact.
- Second source says talks will address recent developments.
Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, will visit Tehran on Monday to continue efforts to bring peace and security to the region, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday.
Islamabad has taken on a mediator role in negotiations between Tehran and Washington aimed at ending the war which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
The Shehbaz Sharif-led government brokered a two-week ceasefire between the two sides on April 8 that ended six weeks of fighting and continues to relay messages between Washington and Tehran.
Two Pakistani government sources confirmed Munir’s visit to Reuters. The first source said that Iran and Pakistan were in direct contact.
A second source said the talks would also address recent developments in the conflict, including US President Donald Trump’s threat of tougher sanctions on Iran.
“He [CDF Munir] will discuss peace under Islamabad’s MoU, Trump’s warning and the situation after the Pakistan-Turkiye-Saudi Arab Agreement and Houthi issues with Iranian leaders,” the source said.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions as Iran threatens a military response to US plans for sanctions that could further put a strain on the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy.
It will coincide with a Monday announcement on details related to the planned sanctions, which US officials have said would be “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
Trump had warned of economic consequences against any country that provided “any type of lifeline to Iran” as he seeks to isolate the Islamic Republic.
Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.
The first round of direct US-Iran talks was held in Islamabad on April 11 and 12 following a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire on April 8. The negotiations ended without an agreement, but the talks did not collapse.
Pakistan has intensified its diplomatic efforts to break the deadlock by sending Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Tehran in August.
During the visit, Naqvi held meetings with Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, Iranian news agencies reported.
