Pakistani minister arrives in Tehran to ‘facilitate’ US-Iran peace talks

Pakistani minister arrives in Tehran to ‘facilitate’ US-Iran peace talks

Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran just days after Pakistan's influential army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Vehicles and motorbikes drive along a street adorned with the Iranian flag in Tehran amid a ceasefire in the region. (AFP pic)
TEHRAN:
Pakistan’s interior minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday “to facilitate” the peace talks between Iran and the US that have stalled despite a fragile ceasefire, Iranian media reported.

“Mohsin Naqvi arrived today in the Islamic Republic of Iran on an official two-day visit as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to facilitate talks and promote regional peace,” the Tasnim news agency reported.

Iranian interior minister Eskandar Momeni received Naqvi, whose visit to Tehran comes days after that of Pakistan’s influential army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Islamabad has been actively mediating in the peace talks between Iran and the US and last month hosted a high-stakes meeting between delegations from both sides.

A ceasefire that began on April 8 has largely halted the fighting that erupted when US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Feb 28.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Tehran had received messages from Washington indicating that President Donald Trump’s administration was willing to continue negotiations.

Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Tuesday that Washington should accept Tehran’s proposal for peace or face “failure” after Trump rejected an Iranian counteroffer and warned the ceasefire was on “life support”.

“There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another,” Ghalibaf said in a social media post.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.