Pakistan minister, US envoy discuss regional situation after Tehran talks
<p> ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Tuesday held talks on the prevailing regional situation, the Pakistani interior ministry said, following Naqvi and Pakistani Defense Forces Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s discussions with Iranian officials on a US-Iran peace deal.</p> <p> Naqvi and Munir held a series of meetings with Iran’s leadership in Tehran a day earlier as Islamabad seeks to break a stalemate between Washington and Tehran and restore the interim peace agreement it helped the two sides reach in June.</p> <p> In a post on X, Naqvi said they made “significant progress” in their meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Islamabad was hopeful that this momentum will help pave the way for “lasting peace in the region.”</p> <p> “Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met US envoy Natalie Baker,” the Pakistani interior ministry said on Tuesday. “Views were exchanged in the meeting on the overall situation of the region and issues related to peace and stability.”</p> <p> The ministry said the US envoy praised the “positive diplomatic role” of the field marshal for peace and stability in the region.</p> <p> Naqvi earlier said discussions with Pezeshkian focused on the Iran-US conflict, wider Middle East tensions and steps required from both sides to restore the interim US-Iran peace deal, also known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the aim of reaching a comprehensive settlement.</p> <p> Pakistan’s military separately said the talks covered preventing further escalation, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and bringing the conflict to an “expedited” end.</p> <p> The visit followed months of Pakistani mediation between Iran and the US after the conflict, which began in February, disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important routes for oil and gas supplies.</p> <p> The US and Iran have not traded attacks for weeks, but negotiations remain stalled and both Washington and Tehran have continued to issue threats to each other.</p>