Pakistan declared significant progress in its effort to broker peace between the United States and Iran after Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held a full day of meetings with Iran senior leadership in Tehran on August 24.
The visit marked the highest-level Pakistani delegation to Tehran since the June Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding collapsed in July, and came days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled sweeping new economic sanctions against Iran and its trading partners. Speaking to reporters after the meetings, Naqvi said discussions with President Masoud Pezeshkian focused on the Iran-US conflict, wider Middle East tensions, and steps required from both sides to restore the Islamabad MoU.
Significant progress was made, and the meeting concluded on a highly positive note, Naqvi wrote in a post on X after meeting Pezeshkian. We remain hopeful that this momentum will help pave the way for further progress and lasting peace in the region.
What the Islamabad MoU Meant
The June agreement, brokered by Pakistan, called for a cessation of hostilities, Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The deal held briefly before collapsing in July, leading to a resumption of strikes and renewed tensions across the Gulf. Pakistan has since tried to revive the framework through direct and indirect channels with both Washington and Tehran.
Munir and Naqvi met a sweeping roster of Iranian officials during their day-long visit. In addition to Pezeshkian, they held talks with Mohsen Rezaei, the Supreme Leader representative on the Supreme National Security Council, parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, according to Pakistan Inter-Services Public Relations.
The Pakistani military media wing said the talks covered measures to prevent further escalation, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and an expedited end to the conflict. Those three agenda items mirror the core provisions of the original Islamabad MoU, suggesting both sides are working from the same diplomatic blueprint.
Trump Spoke to Munir Before Visit
Three Pakistani sources told Reuters that Trump spoke with Munir last week ahead of the Tehran visit. Washington main request, according to one source, was for Pakistan to use its influence to bring Iran back to the negotiating table. The call signals that Washington views Islamabad as a viable back-channel even as it maintains pressure through sanctions and a continued naval presence in the Gulf.
Iran response was more guarded. Pezeshkian told Munir that US coercion and bullying would complicate the path to negotiations, according to Tasnim news agency. SNSC chief Rezaei separately warned on state television that Iran would retaliate to the economic campaign in a seismic manner and that not a single drop of oil would be exported through the Gulf if the sanctions pressure continued.
The Hormuz Question
The Strait of Hormuz remains the central flashpoint of the six-month-old conflict. The International Maritime Organization has confirmed 68 incidents involving commercial vessels in the Gulf and surrounding waters, roughly one every 2.6 days, according to an AFP analysis. At least 20 seafarers or port workers have been killed, 35 wounded, and one remains missing.
Frequency of incidents fell sharply while peace talks were underway in June but rose again after negotiations collapsed, the AFP data showed. Fewer than 20 ships transited the strait over the most recent weekend, a fraction of the normal traffic through the waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world oil supply.
Iran Deputy Foreign Minister said on August 26 that military vessels would not be allowed to transit Hormuz under the deal being negotiated with Oman, a condition that would restrict naval operations by any power while leaving commercial shipping under separate negotiation. Tehran maintains the strait remains closed, even as it discusses phased approaches with Muscat to manage vessel traffic.
Sanctions Bite but Markets Shrug
The diplomatic push comes against the backdrop of Bessent D-Day sanctions announced on August 24, which targeted dozens of Chinese and Hong Kong firms and threatened secondary sanctions on any country maintaining economic ties with Tehran. Iran rial hit a new record low of 2.02 million to the dollar on the open market, well above the central bank official rate of approximately 1.5 million.
Despite the escalation, oil prices fell to a one-week low on August 25 as investors appeared to price in the possibility that sanctions could actually accelerate diplomatic progress. The rial collapse and the economic squeeze on Tehran may create the conditions under which Iran leadership decides to return to talks, analysts suggested.
Iran security establishment remains wary of Washington intentions, however. Even as Munir claimed progress, the deeper question was whether Pakistan military chief could convince Iran IRGC and intelligence apparatus to accept any deal that falls short of a full US withdrawal and complete sanctions relief.
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