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Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir departed on an official visit to Iran on Friday, security sources said.
The CDF will discuss US-Iran talks, peace in the region and other important issues during the visit, the sources said. He will also meet with senior Iranian officials.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented about CDF Munir’s visit to Tehran, saying that the US was in “constant communication with him [and] the highest levels of our government are constantly talking to him”.
He also praised Pakistan for doing an “admirable job” trying to mediate a peace deal between Washington and Tehran.
“The primary interlocutor on this has been Pakistan and continues to be and they’ve done a, you know, I think an admirable job. And that’s what we continue to work through,” Fox News quoted Rubio as saying.
The visit comes amid ongoing Pakistani efforts to mediate between the US and Iran, after plans for a second round of negotiations in Islamabad fell through.
The first round of historic direct US-Iran talks was held in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, following a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire on April 8. It had ended without an agreement, but also without a breakdown.
US President Donald Trump later called off a planned visit of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner to travel to Islamabad for a second round of talks with Iran. However, he extended the ceasefire indefinitely “upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif”.
Pakistan has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to break the deadlock, sending its emissary — Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi — to Tehran on Wednesday for the second time in less than a week to resuscitate negotiations. He had previously met Iran’s president, parliament speaker and foreign minister over the weekend.
The CDF previously visited Iran for three days last month alongside Naqvi, where he held a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other officials. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) described the visit as part of “ongoing mediation efforts” for de-escalation between Iran and the US.
Diplomatic sources said Pakistan was continuing to relay messages between Tehran and Washington, but differences over Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, the Strait of Hormuz, and wider regional security concerns linked to Tehran’s missile capabilities and allied armed groups continued to impede progress.
The latest round of contacts is taking place under heightened pressure from the US and its Middle East allies. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said talks in Iran were in the final stages, and also threatened to resume strikes if a deal is not reached in a “limited timeframe”.
Iran, meanwhile, warned of confrontation beyond the Middle East in the case of a US attack but also insisted that all paths were open to avert the resumption of hostilities.
While negotiations currently remain stalled, the Foreign Office (FO) said at the end of April that Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts are continuing, with Islamabad maintaining its role as a facilitator between the two sides despite the apparent impasse.
Iran’s most recent proposal to the US calls for the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, the release of Iranian frozen funds and an end to the marine blockade on the country.
After the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28, Tehran responded by shutting down the strait and later announced it would charge vessels using the maritime route. In April, the US blockaded Iranian ports to stop its oil exports and returned over 30 ships leaving Iranian ports.
Europe and the rest of the world appears anxious for a swift, diplomatic end to the war, which has ravaged the Middle East and crippled global shipping, causing a fuel crunch across the globe.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, however, has claimed, “No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the United States Navy.”
