Middle East Crisis Peace Talks

Pakistan Army Chief to Tehran – Trying to Revive Negotiations

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir has traveled to Tehran to meet Iranian leaders and try to get a new round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, reports the AP.

The ceasefire that currently exists between the two countries expires next week, if it is not extended.

According to Al Jazeera, Munir will also deliver a diplomatic message from the United States. However, what it contains is unclear.

Trump flattery reportedly gave Pakistan the key role

Pakistan has gone from being in the White House's "freezer box" to now acting as a mediator between the United States and Iran, a former US State Department official tells Politico.

The US-Pakistani relationship has long been frosty, but that is something that the government in Islamabad has managed to change, including by arresting a terrorist wanted by the US and nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

– It helped turn the country's reputation around in Washington, says the anonymous person.

Asia expert Elizabeth Threlkeld at the Stimson Center think tank says that Pakistan would not have been allowed to mediate if there had not been such strong trust between the country's leadership and Trump.