The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday that Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had arrived in Tehran as part of the “ongoing mediation efforts”.
In a statement, ISPR said that CDF Munir had arrived in the Iranian capital alongside a formal delegation and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
The statement came hours after Iran said that exchanges with the United States via Pakistan had continued following negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend that yielded no result.
“Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
“Today, we are very likely to receive a Pakistani delegation as a continuation of the discussions in Islamabad,” he added.
Baqaei asserted that Tehran’s right to enrich uranium was “indisputable” although the level of enrichment is “negotiable”.
The Iranian official said the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy could not be “taken away under pressure or through war”.
“Regarding the level and type of enrichment, we have always stated that this issue is negotiable. We have emphasised that Iran should be able to continue enrichment in accordance with its needs,” he added.
Baqaei also said some of the US demands during the talks with the US were “unreasonable and unrealistic”, without elaborating.
He insisted on Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, saying it could not be “taken away under pressure or through war”.
The level of enrichment, he said, remains “negotiable” and “Iran should be able to continue enrichment in accordance with its needs”.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that talks between Washington and Tehran could resume over the next two days and that “we’re more inclined to go” to Pakistan, according to The New York Post.
“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump said.
“It’s more likely, you know why? Because the Field Marshal is doing a great job. He’s fantastic, and therefore it’s more likely that we go back there,“ he told The NY Post. “Why should we go to some country that has nothing to do with it?”
This was after he earlier told the US media outlet that discussions were “happening, but, you know, a little bit slow”, before indicating that a second round of direct negotiations would likely happen somewhere in Europe.
And on Wednesday, in a clip shared of an interview shared by Fox, Trump said that the war with Iran is “very close to over”.
Pakistan hosted direct Iran-US talks in Islamabad on Saturday and Sunday, marking the highest engagement between the two sides since 1979. The talks ended without an agreement despite nearly 21 hours of talks. While no breakthrough was achieved, both sides indicated that the diplomatic channel remained open.
On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a meeting of the federal cabinet that “full efforts” were ongoing to resolve the conflict.
Noting that the truce was still holding, he said, “As I am talking to you, matters that are not resolved, full efforts are underway to resolve them.”
The ceasefire between the US and Iran, brokered on April 8 after weeks of conflict, is set to expire on April 22. While technically intact, it is increasingly precarious.
The US has moved toward enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, prompting a warning from Tehran that such a move would be a violation of the ceasefire.
