Pakistan ‘cautiously optimistic’ over iran-us mediation, Says DG ISPR

Pakistan's military said on Friday (Oct 30) it was "cautiously optimistic" about its mediation between Iran and the United States, in its first interview with news agency Reuters since a high-level delegation visited Tehran this week. Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's chief mediator in efforts to de-escalate the eight-month-old Iran war, has travelled to Tehran twice this month. His latest visit was on Monday (Oct 26), alongside Saudi and Turkish officials.

Asked whether the trips signalled progress, military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, said the repeat visit pointed to some positivity. "The word that we would use is always cautiously optimistic," he said.

Speaking in Rawalpindi, where the armed forces are headquartered, he declined to say what was discussed in Tehran or whether the United States had backed the trip. This follows Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin joining Munir in Tehran. Their countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan on August 7, under which an attack on any signatory is treated as an attack on all.

The signatories say the pact is aimed at collective deterrence and regional security, while analysts link its evolution to efforts to manage the fallout from the Iran-US confrontation.

After Monday's talks, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said regional security should be ensured by regional countries without foreign intervention. Asked whether Iran could join the pact, Chaudhry said its wording does not bar new members. "Anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace, why not?" he said, adding that the decision rested with the political leadership of the three principal parties.

On whether more Pakistani troops would be sent to Saudi Arabia, he said that would depend on the situation and on both governments' decisions. He said Pakistan was committed to defending Saudi Arabia and the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, but was not part of the Yemeni conflict, which he called an intra-Yemen matter. Fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis has been reignited by the Iran conflict.