Pakistani delegation heads to Iran with ‘new message’ from US as second-round talks loom

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A high-profile Pakistani “political-security delegation,” led by Islamabad's Army Chief Asim Munir, is en route to Tehran to deliver a “new message” from Washington and lay the groundwork for a second round of talks, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said that “Field Marshal Asim Munir has departed for Tehran at the head of a high-level political-security delegation” to deliver a “new message” from the United States and “to plan for a second round of talks.”

The state-run outlet quoted “informed sources in Pakistan” as saying the delegation includes “key Pakistani figures” and is set to discuss upcoming negotiations with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a senior member of Iran’s negotiating team.

IRIB also cited well-placed “informed and media sources in Pakistan” as saying the delegation will “review issues related to a second round of talks set to be hosted in Islamabad in the coming days.”

A Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran came into effect early last week, following nearly 40 days of war that began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign targeting thousands of sites across Iran.

In response, Tehran carried out thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.

The Iranian response also involved Iraqi armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ with several factions claiming responsibility for attacks on purported US targets in the region, including in Iraq and Kurdistan Region.

Moreover, renewed fighting has been ongoing between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March, after the Tehran-aligned group launched an initial attack on northern Israel.

Against the backdrop of the Pakistan-mediated truce, senior American and Iranian negotiators held rare face-to-face talks in Islamabad on Saturday. The discussions lasted roughly 21 hours but ended without a final agreement.

Among the key sticking points are differences over Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities and the management of the strategic Strait of Hormuz - through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil trade flows.

Another key source of disagreement among negotiators is whether the ceasefire extends to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, with Tel Aviv and Washington saying it does not, while Tehran and Islamabad argue otherwise.

A White House official told Rudaw on Tuesday the US administration is reviewing the issue of “future talks” with Iran, noting, however, that a new round of talks has yet to be slated.

RELATED: No new US-Iran round of talks scheduled yet: White House official

Last updated at 5:40 pm.