Iran’s foreign minister wrapped up a diplomatic visit to Islamabad on Saturday before the planned arrival of US negotiators, as Pakistani mediators pushed for new talks to end the Middle East war.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief and a key figure in the mediation effort, as well as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Araghchi, according to an Iranian statement, thanked Pakistan for its efforts but “explained our country’s principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran”.
Pakistan’s Dar posted on social media that the meeting with the Iranian delegation lasted around two hours and Pakistan emphasised “the importance of dialogue and diplomacy”.
Iranian state media later reported that Araghchi had left Islamabad.
On Friday — as urgency mounted to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would leave for Pakistan on Saturday.
“The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation,” she said, adding the talks would “hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal”.
