Pakistan says Asim Munir's Iran visit aimed at de-escalation, not US envoy role

Islamabad,UPDATED: Aug 27, 2026 20:16 IST

Pakistan on Thursday said Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's recent visit to Iran was aimed at helping de-escalate regional tensions and exploring a negotiated settlement, rejecting claims that he had travelled to Tehran as an "envoy" of the United States. The clarification came after Munir held talks in Iran on Monday on steps to prevent further escalation in West Asia and on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

At a weekly press conference, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi also spoke about Pakistan's trade with Iran, rejected remarks by former Indian chief of defence staff Anil Chauhan on Kirana Hills during the May 2025 conflict, commented on ties with Afghanistan, and said Pakistan would take over the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for a year after next week's summit in Bishkek.

Andrabi said Munir's Tehran visit was undertaken "purely in the context and backdrop of Pakistan's role as a mediator". Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had accompanied the Army chief to Tehran. Andrabi said claims that Munir visited Iran as an "envoy of President Donald Trump or the US are misleading and factually incorrect".

He said the discussions during the visit "focused on regional de-escalation, breaking the military stalemate and exploring a negotiated settlement to restore peace and stability". According to Andrabi, the visit reflected Pakistan's "sincere and constructive role" in bridging differences between Washington and Tehran, and the Iranian leadership appreciated Islamabad's efforts for de-escalation and a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

"Pakistan remains engaged alongside our brotherly countries in sincere and concerted efforts towards resolving the crisis in the Middle East and Gulf and with respect to the standoff between the US and Iran," Andrabi said. "Pakistan will continue to actively pursue diplomatic engagement and support all sincere efforts aimed at reviving the peace talks and achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution of the conflict," he added.

Islamabad has been pushing to revive its mediation efforts in the stalled US-Iran peace negotiations. The conflict began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran, triggering Iranian retaliation, choking the Strait of Hormuz and causing a rise in petroleum prices. A ceasefire was announced in April with an agreement to end the US-Iran conflict, but the peace process later faltered. An interim peace agreement, which Pakistan signed as a guarantor, derailed in July as tensions in West Asia rose again and the US and Iran resumed military strikes. Pakistan's efforts to revive the talks have so far failed to produce results.

During the Tehran visit, Munir and Naqvi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Representative of the Supreme Leader on the Supreme Security Council Mohsen Rezaei, Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.

On trade with Iran, Andrabi said Pakistan was following bilateral trade agreements and that trade with Tehran was in line with its international obligations and international law. He said Pakistan opposed unilateral sanctions imposed outside the United Nations framework and hoped economic issues would be addressed as part of a broader settlement of the US-Iran standoff.

During the press conference, Andrabi also rejected remarks by former Indian CDS Anil Chauhan about an Indian loitering munition striking the Kirana Hills near Sargodha during the May 2025 conflict. "We categorically reject the retrospective claims made by the former Indian chief of defence staff regarding Kirana Hills... No strategic asset or sensitive infrastructure was compromised in Pakistan (during the 2025 military conflict)," he said.

India carried out Operation Sindoor against nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in May 2025, killing more than 100 terrorists, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. India's strikes during the military conflict hit an airbase in Sargodha, and there were reports that the base was linked to an underground nuclear storage facility in Kirana Hills. Speaking in New Delhi on Tuesday at a session on "Operation Sindoor and its Aftermath", Chauhan said the Indian forces "did not target" Kirana Hills and that many loitering munitions were sent at Sargodha, and one of them might have fallen after losing power and hit a hill.

On Afghanistan, Andrabi said Pakistan remained open to state-level dialogue with Kabul, but the sustainability of any mechanism would depend on "tangible actions, rather than mere assurances". He said Kabul must honour its international commitments and ensure that Afghan soil was not used by militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Balochistan Liberation Army, against Pakistan.

Andrabi also said Pakistan would assume the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for a one-year term after the SCO Council of Heads of State summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, beginning Monday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the summit, he said, and added that the SCO summit would be held in Islamabad next year. Overall, Pakistan used the briefing to underline its role in regional diplomacy, reject claims around Munir's Iran visit and Kirana Hills, and set out its positions on Iran, Afghanistan and the SCO.

With PTI Inputs

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