Pakistan Mediation Army says cautiously optimistic about Iran-US peace efforts

Pakistan is “cautiously optimistic” about its mediation efforts between Iran and the United States, the military’s spokesperson said on Friday, following a high-level delegation’s visit to Tehran earlier this week.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry described the diplomatic engagement as a positive sign, pointing to two recent visits by Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir to Iran.

“Why would the Field Marshal be going twice if it is not for some positivity? So yes, of course,” Chaudhry said when asked whether the visits indicated progress.

However, he stressed that Pakistan remained cautiously optimistic because powerful groups continued to oppose efforts to end the conflict.

Speaking in Rawalpindi, Chaudhry declined to disclose details of the discussions in Tehran or confirm whether the United States had supported the latest diplomatic mission.

Munir visited Tehran on Monday alongside Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.

The visit highlighted growing regional diplomatic engagement as the Iran-US conflict continues to reshape political and security alliances across the Middle East.

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Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed a joint defence agreement on August 7. The pact states that an attack on any signatory will be treated as an attack on all.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement has gained importance amid concerns that the conflict could expand across the region. The three countries have described the arrangement as a framework for collective deterrence and regional security.

Following Monday’s talks, Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said regional security should be managed by countries in the region without foreign intervention.

Chaudhry said the agreement did not prevent other countries from joining. Asked whether Iran could become a member, he said any country sharing the vision of collective deterrence and regional peace would be welcome.

He added that the decision would rest with the political leadership of the three founding countries.

On the possibility of sending additional Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia under the agreement, Chaudhry said any deployment would depend on the situation and decisions by the political leadership of both countries.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to defending Saudi Arabia and the holy sites in Makkah and Madina. However, he clarified that Pakistan was not involved in the conflict in Yemen, describing it as an internal Yemeni matter.

Renewed fighting involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi group has raised concerns about further regional escalation amid the Iran conflict.

Turning to domestic security, Chaudhry also discussed the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the federal government suspended the provincial government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on October 11 and detained Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

The federal government accused the provincial administration of failing to address militancy. PTI rejected the allegations, saying its government had participated in counterterrorism efforts. Party leaders also described the move as an attempt to suppress protests.

Asked whether the military would launch larger operations in the province, Chaudhry said the army’s counterterrorism strategy relied on intelligence-based operations rather than broad military campaigns.

“Our counter-terrorism operations are based on what we call IBOs, intelligence-based operations,” he said, adding that the pace of these operations would increase.