Islamabad, Aug 24 (PTI) Pakistan Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday met Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni in Tehran and discussed bilateral ties and reviewed the latest regional developments.
The army chief, accompanied by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, is undertaking the trip “as part of Pakistan’s efforts to promote regional peace and stability,” according to a statement by the Pakistan Army.
“The Field Marshal will focus on promoting efforts towards peaceful, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the conflict in the Middle East,” it said.
Munir’s visit comes amid heightened tensions as Iran threatens a military response to US plans for sanctions. The trip also comes ahead of a scheduled trip by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi to Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iranian officials.
Field Marshal Munir met Iranian Interior Minister Momeni in Tehran after arriving in the Iranian capital for talks on regional peace and stability, Iranian media reported.
Munir will hold discussions with senior Iranian officials during the visit, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the trip aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation and continue Pakistan’s efforts to promote peace and security in the region.
Pakistan has been leading the push for peace and reviving its mediation efforts in the stalled US-Iran peace negotiations. It succeeded in April in arranging a ceasefire, which resulted in an agreement to end the US-Iran conflict. However, the peace process faltered later on and has not been put back on track.
The conflict began when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian retaliation and choking the vital strait of Hormuz and entailing a petroleum price hike.
An interim peace agreement, which Pakistan signed as a guarantor, derailed last month as tensions escalated in West Asia with the US and Iran resuming military strikes. Pakistan’s efforts to revive the talks have so far failed to yield results.
Interior Minister Naqvi had held talks with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran earlier this month.
The key sticking point is the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been disrupted because of the war. Roughly a fifth of the world’s total energy supplies passed through the Gulf chokepoint in normal times.
Iranian President Pezeshkian on Sunday defended the MoU as the best way for the country to move beyond what he described as a situation of “neither war nor peace”, while Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei threatened Tehran’s neighbours against joining the new US effort to hurt Iran’s economy.
On August 20, US President Donald Trump had said he would go for what he called the “most crushing economic operation” against Iran if Tehran failed to strike a deal. PTI SH ZH ZH
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