RAWALPINDI — Pakistan’s military spokesman said on Friday that the army is “cautiously optimistic” about efforts to mediate between Iran and the United States. He also warned that “powerful spoilers and detractors” still believe the war serves them.
“The word that we would use is always cautiously optimistic,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, told Reuters in Rawalpindi. He did not name the spoilers he spoke of. His comments were the first since a high-level delegation visited Tehran this week, according to Reuters. He declined to say what was discussed in Tehran, or whether the United States had backed the trip.
Munir takes a proposal to Tehran
Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief mediator in the conflict, has been to Tehran twice this month. On Monday he travelled there with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. The meetings were hosted by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also attended meetings.
At the talks, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye agreed to continue their dialogue for peace and security in the region. A senior Pakistani official told Reuters the agenda covered the negotiations between the United States and Iran, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz and the American blockade of Iranian ports. The official said Munir, with President Donald Trump’s blessing to pursue diplomacy, presented Iran with a proposal that would offer something to both Washington and Tehran. If the proposal is accepted, the official said, the states of the Mecca defence pact, along with Qatar, could act as guarantors.
Iran’s condition, and a new move by Qatar
Iran has set out its own condition. Iranian officials told Munir that there would be no talks with the United States about ending the war until Tehran’s demands are met, according to Iranian media. On Friday, Qatari mediators arrived in Tehran in another attempt to revive the June ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which collapsed months after it was agreed.
The war is now eight months old. It began in February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Pakistan has since put itself at the centre of efforts to bring the two sides back to talks.
Foreign Office restates Pakistan’s position
In Islamabad, the Foreign Office used its weekly briefing on Friday to welcome ongoing diplomatic initiatives, including the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. Spokesperson Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan called for the restoration of safe, secure and uninterrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The Foreign Office also strongly condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including the ballistic missile attacks of October 26 that targeted the Makkah and Madinah regions. It restated Pakistan’s support for a two-state solution and an immediate end to the violence in Gaza.
Sources: Reuters, reported by Al Jazeera; Pakistan Foreign Office weekly briefing; Iranian media reports.
