A Pakistani delegation led by Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Iran on Wednesday, days after the failed US-Iranian talks in Islamabad to end the Middle East war. The visit comes as part of Islamabad’s efforts to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran.
Inter Services Public Relations, the army’s media wing, confirmed the arrival in a statement, saying Munir is part of a delegation that also includes Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
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“Field Marshal Asim Munir… and Mr. Mohsin Naqvi, Interior Minister, along with a delegation are coming to Tehran as part of ongoing mediation efforts,” ISPR was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Iran’s Abbas Araghchi welcomes Pak delegation
According to Iranian media, the members of the delegation were welcomed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon their arrival in Tehran.
Araghchi’s Telegram channel posted several photos of him welcoming a Pakistani official and saying, “Munir is coming to Tehran.”
Geo News, citing sources, said that officials and security agencies in Pakistan have been instructed to make necessary administrative and security arrangements before the next round of negotiations.
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Trump hints at second round of talks
US President Donald Trump told Sky News on Wednesday that a US deal with Iran was “very possible” ahead of King Charles’ visit to Washington later this month. Trump was quoted as saying, “It’s possible. Very possible. They (Iran) are getting beat up a lot. It’s very possible.”
Trump also told ABC News that the war with Iran is close to over. “I think you’re going to be looking at an amazing two days ahead,” Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, according to the reporter’s post on X, adding that he didn’t think it would be necessary to extend the two-week ceasefire, which expires next week.
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A day earlier, Trump said a second round of talks with Iran could take place in Islamabad “within the next two days.”
“You should stay there, really, because something could happen in the next two days and we’re inclined to go there,” Trump told The New York Post.
“I think it’s close to the end, yes. I mean, I see it as very close to the end,” Trump said in an interview with the Fox Business Network that took place on Tuesday and aired on Wednesday. “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to close the deal very badly.”
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Shehbaz’s visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Asim Munir’s trip to Iran came at a time when Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embarked on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey on Wednesday.
His visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be in a bilateral context, where the prime minister will meet the leadership of both countries to discuss continued bilateral cooperation as well as regional peace and security, the Foreign Office said.
The visits are part of an effort to facilitate the US and Iran reaching an agreement to end the ongoing conflict.
What happened in the first round of US-Iranian talks?
The US and Iran held rare direct talks in Pakistan over the weekend to end their conflict, but the talks ended early on Sunday without any agreement.
US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation, said the talks had failed to reach an agreement, with Tehran not giving up its nuclear program as one of the key issues.
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Trump also wrote on TRUTH social: “…the meeting went well, most points were agreed upon, but the one point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.
However, Iran said the talks in Islamabad failed due to “excessive demands” from the US side.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, who led his country’s delegation to the marathon peace talks, said his team had made “progressive initiatives, but the opposite side ultimately failed to win the confidence of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”
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According to reports, officials from Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf states also said the two sides could return to Islamabad in the coming days.
Pakistani officials claimed that the second round is expected in the coming days, for which Pakistan is making all-out efforts, PTI reported.
The conflict began after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, crippling global energy markets and disrupting trade.
The US, along with Israel, launched attacks on Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian attacks on Iran’s neighbors in the Persian Gulf and reigniting the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
