- Khatam al-Anbiya commander welcomes army chief upon arrival.
- Army chief’s visit help reduce differences in some areas: official.
- CDF Munir holds meeting with Iranian foreign minister during visit.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran during his official visit to the country, Iranian media reported late Thursday.
Field Marshal Munir also visited Iran armed forces’ Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters in Tehran. Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Commander Major General Ali Abdollahi welcomed the army chief upon his arrival.
Field Marshal Munir’s visit to Iran is part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to turn Tehran’s two-week ceasefire with the US into a lasting peace.
Field Marshal Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, along with a Pakistani delegation, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday, where they were received by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
During the visit, the army chief held separate meetings with Araghchi and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Both Iranian leaders were part of the delegation that held direct talks with a US delegation in Islamabad last weekend.
Pakistan mediated the talks in its federal capital on April 11 after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif facilitated a two-week ceasefire between the two sides on April 8.
Before the high-level Pakistani delegation’s visit, a spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry said that it would convey messages from the US side.
The visit has since resulted in some progress between Iran and US as they push for an agreement to end weeks of war.
The visit by Field Marshal Munir to Tehran had helped reduce differences in some areas, increasing hopes for an extended ceasefire and renewed talks between Tehran and Washington, a senior Iranian official said earlier.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly praised the army chief for his key role in Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday, the US president said: “He [the field marshal] is fantastic, and therefore it’s more likely that we go back there [Pakistan].”
During last weekend’s talks in Islamabad, Field Marshal Munir was at the centre of the action — greeting both delegations on their arrival.
Trump frequently refers to CDF Munir as his “favourite field marshal”, after a rapport built during US efforts to defuse a short but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and rival India last year.
