Islamabad: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran on Wednesday for the second time within a week for meetings with senior Iranian officials, amid Islamabad’s efforts aimed at reviving the stalled Iran-US peace talks to end the war in West Asia.
Naqvi has departed for Tehran to discuss the US-Iran peace talks with Iranian leaders, Geo News reported, citing sources. “His departure comes as Islamabad continues to lead mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran,” it reported.
Iranian official media has also reported the visit of Naqvi to Tehran.
“Pakistan Interior Minister arrives in capital Tehran amid Islamabad efforts to mediate talks between Iran, US,” Iran’s state-run Press TV said in a post on social media. Separately, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency also reported, citing informed diplomatic sources in Islamabad, that Naqvi departed for Tehran to hold talks with officials of Iran.
There was no reaction from the Pakistan side, which often maintains silence on diplomatic outreach to mediate between the US and Iran.
Naqvi’s reported visit is the second by him to Iran in less than a week and comes amidst mixed signals from Tehran and Washington.
During his last visit, Naqvi met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni over the weekend.
The latest visit came as Trump on Tuesday offered a deadline of several days for resuming strikes if a deal is not agreed. He had said a day earlier that Gulf Arab leaders asked him to hold off on an attack at the 11th hour.
On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi warned that a “return to war will feature many more surprises”.
Separately, the Revolutionary Guards issued a warning that any further attack on Iran will “lead to a conflict that extends far beyond the borders of West Asia.”
Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance has talked about progress in talks with Iran. “We’re in a pretty good spot here,” Vance told a White House press briefing.
Naqvi’s visit to Tehran is significant, given his closeness to Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Naqvi was part of a delegation led by Munir that visited Tehran last month when Iran-US negotiations were a major focus of the trip.
