Iran holds two rounds of talks with Pakistani military chief ahead of negotiations with US

According to the agency, Field Marshall Asim Munir facilitated another round of indirect communications between the Iranian and US sides....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

The Iranian delegation in Islamabad met twice with Chief of Pakistan Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir before the meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif, Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

According to the agency, Field Marshall Asim Munir facilitated another round of indirect communications between the Iranian and US sides.

A source close to the matter disclosed to TASS earlier in the day that the Iranian delegation was likely to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before the start of negotiations with the United States.

According to the source, the Iranians and Pakistani officials were to determine the format and time for the start of negotiations. The source also hinted that the meeting could be attended by Chief of Pakistan Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Reuters reported earlier in the day citing its source that US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Islamabad on Saturday morning. According to the source, US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner also arrived in the capital of Pakistan for the peace talks.

Iran’s delegation led by Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in the Pakistani capital on Friday night. It also includes Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian state broadcaster reported.

On Friday evening, Ghalibaf said that the US had failed to fulfill two truce terms that must be met before the start of negotiations, including a ceasefire in Lebanon and the unfreezing of Iranian assets.

The Islamic Republic’s state television claims that Iran will begin negotiations with the US if Washington accepts all of Tehran’s preconditions. An informed source told TASS that the meeting will be extremely tense as Tehran’s demands to stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon are not being met.

The search for compromises based on Tehran’s ten-point proposal is expected to be the central theme of the talks. These include the principle of non-aggression, Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, uranium enrichment on the territory of the Islamic Republic, the lifting of primary and secondary sanctions, compensation payments, and the withdrawal of American forces from the region.