TEHRAN(National Times)- Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir will visit Tehran on Monday to continue efforts to bring peace and security to the region, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday, according to a statement by the ministry.
He said CDF Munir would lead an official delegation and the “visit aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Iran and Pakistan and to continue Pakistan’s good offices in support of peace and security in the region”.
During the visit, CDF Munir would meet and hold talks with senior officials Iran, Baqaei added.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions as Iran threatens a military response to US plans for sanctions that could further put a strain on the Islamic republic’s ailing economy.
It will coincide with a Monday announcement on details related to the planned sanctions, which US officials have said would be “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
Trump had warned of economic consequences against any country that provided “any type of lifeline to Iran” as he seeks to isolate the Islamic republic.
Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.
Pakistan’s mediation
Pakistan has been leading mediation efforts between the two sides in the ongoing war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
Less than two months after the beginning of the war, Pakistan brokered a ceasefire between the two sides on April 8 and Islamabad hosted direct talks between US and Iran on April 11 and 12.
The mediation efforts also led to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 17 between the US and Iran in Geneva.
The MoU set a framework to move towards a permanent end to the war.
While hostilities have renewed between the two sides since, Pakistan remains engaged in mediation efforts, with CDF Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi having made multiple visits to Iran in recent months.
