Pakistan’s army chief arrived Wednesday for talks in Tehran in the latest diplomatic move to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.
The Pakistani military said the delegation included Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country’s interior minister and other senior security officials. The group is “part of the ongoing mediation efforts,” the military said, but it gave no details.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in the conflict after it hosted rare direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, a move authorities said helped narrow differences between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia on an official visit to discuss regional issues. A statement from Sharif’s office in Islamabad said he was received at the airport in Jeddah by senior Saudi officials. Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s foreign minister and information minister.
The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the week-old ceasefire agreement, but regional officials said they were making progress, telling The Associated Press that the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
But even as mediators worked for peace, tensions were still simmering. The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, announcing the incoming Pakistani delegation, said Islamabad “has held discussions with the Americans and has also heard our stances. During this visit the views of both sides are to be discussed in detail.”
A senior U.S. official said before the Pakistani visit was announced that the United States has not formally agreed to extend the ceasefire and that “engagement” with Iran continues. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive negotiations.
Mediators seek compromise on sticking points
Before the two-week ceasefire expires on April 22, mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points that derailed direct talks last weekend — Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the mediation efforts.
Baghaei said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment,” Iran’s state-media reported.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
