• IRNA says ‘important message’ meant for Iran’s supreme leader
• Interior minister receives instructions from PM before departure
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday stepped up efforts to break the impasse in the US-Iran dialogue, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arriving in Tehran carrying a message from Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir for Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Mr Naqvi was received by his Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni. Pakistan’s newly appointed ambassador to Iran, Imran Ahmad Siddiqui, was also present.
The visit comes at a delicate moment in the diplomatic process that Pakistan has been facilitating for months, as indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran have drifted into what diplomats describe as a fragile stalemate despite both sides continuing to publicly endorse diplomacy over renewed confrontation.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA, quoting an informed source, reported that Mr Naqvi was carrying an “important message” from Field Marshal Munir for Mojtaba Khamenei.
The source said the interior minister had held extensive consultations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials before leaving for Tehran.
The source further claimed that PM Shehbaz had given special instructions to Mr Naqvi regarding the future course of the Iran-US talks.
The Prime Minister’s Office, meanwhile, said in a statement that PM Shehbaz had met the interior minister in Lahore and discussed his visit to Tehran.
According to the official statement, Mr Naqvi briefed the prime minister on his recent engagements on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The two also held consultations on the Tehran visit, while the prime minister provided guidance for the discussions.
Mr Naqvi had also met Mr Momeni in Bishkek.
Diplomatic sources said Mr Naqvi’s mission was part of Pakistan’s efforts to prevent the collapse of a ceasefire arrangement that Islamabad helped broker earlier this year and to create space for the resumption of meaningful negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The ceasefire, reached in April after weeks of intense fighting involving Iran, the United States and Israel, remains formally in place but has been repeatedly tested by military incidents in and around the Gulf region.
Recent exchanges involving US strikes on Iranian military assets and Iranian retaliatory actions have further complicated efforts to move negotiations beyond crisis management towards a more comprehensive political understanding.
At the centre of the deadlock are disagreements over Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, its enrichment programme, the future of sanctions, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and regional security issues.
While US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that negotiations remain active and that progress is being made towards a deal, Iranian officials have struck a far more cautious tone.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently said there had been no tangible progress in the talks and that Tehran was still reviewing proposals conveyed through intermediaries.
Diplomatic sources familiar with the process said both sides remained far apart on key questions, particularly Washington’s demand for substantial restrictions on Iranian enrichment activities and Tehran’s insistence that its right to peaceful enrichment remains non-negotiable.
Complicating matters further is the Lebanon question, which Iranian officials increasingly view as linked to the broader diplomatic track.
Tehran has repeatedly argued that any durable arrangement must address developments across all theatres of confrontation, including Lebanon, while Washington has sought to treat the Lebanon-Israel track separately from the nuclear and sanctions negotiations.
Against this backdrop, Mr Naqvi’s discussions in Tehran are expected to focus not only on the state of the US-Iran talks but also on regional issues that continue to affect prospects for a settlement.
Besides talks with Interior Minister Momeni, the Pakistani minister is expected to meet Foreign Minister Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Meetings with parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Bagher Zolghadr are also expected, according to Iranian sources.
The significance attached to the visit has fuelled speculation that Islamabad may be attempting to inject fresh momentum into a process that appeared to be losing traction after weeks of military incidents and diplomatic setbacks.
Pakistan’s mediation role has drawn increasing international attention in recent months, with both Washington and Tehran publicly acknowledging Islamabad’s efforts and several European governments expressing support for the initiative.
Lebanese army chief’s visit
Meanwhile, in a related development that attracted attention in diplomatic circles, Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal left for Pakistan on Saturday on an official visit.
The Lebanese Armed Forces announced that the visit was being undertaken at the invitation of General Haykal’s Pakistani counterpart, but did not disclose details of its agenda or duration.
Officially, the trip is being described as part of ongoing military-to-military cooperation and discussions on training and institutional support.
However, the timing of the visit has generated speculation because it coincides with Pakistan’s efforts to overcome obstacles in the US-Iran negotiations and follows renewed tensions in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon has increasingly emerged as one of the factors complicating the broader diplomatic process.
President Joseph Aoun has recently called for strengthening state authority and reducing the role of non-state armed groups, while Iranian officials have strongly rejected suggestions that Tehran uses Lebanon as leverage in its dealings with Washington.
Iran has also linked progress in its discussions with the United States to developments on what it describes as other fronts of the conflict, including Lebanon.
Western diplomats say the Lebanese armed forces are expected to play an important role in any future security arrangements in southern Lebanon and have therefore become an important part of regional stabilisation efforts.
Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2026
