Naqvi In Tehran As Pakistan Seeks To Keep Iran-US Talks On Track

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Saturday, as Islamabad ramped up its diplomatic efforts to help move forward US-Iran negotiations.

The interior minister travelled to the Iranian capital after first landing in Mashhad earlier in the day, where he subsequently met FM Araghchi, according to Iranian media reports.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, had earlier informed Isna news agency that “Pakistan’s interior minister will arrive in Iran at noon today, Saturday, as part of Pakistan’s efforts regarding the Iran-US negotiations.”

According to Baqaei, Naqvi is also expected to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, during the course of the visit.

Islamabad, which has positioned itself as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, secured a major diplomatic breakthrough on June 15, when US President Donald Trump announced that the United States had signed an MoU with Iran aimed at bringing peace to the region.

Subsequently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Islamabad MoU in his capacity as mediator, formally sealing the historic peace agreement.

As per a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office on June 18, the premier signed the Islamabad MoU as mediator, while US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the document on behalf of their respective nations.

Bürgenstock Talks Postponed

The two sides were originally scheduled to hold further discussions at Switzerland’s Bürgenstock resort on Friday. However, the Swiss foreign ministry announced that the talks had been postponed, while reaffirming Switzerland’s continued readiness to facilitate future negotiations.

This announcement followed a statement from a White House spokesperson confirming that US Vice President JD Vance had withdrawn from his planned trip to Switzerland.

These talks were intended to mark the beginning of a 60-day phase of negotiations aimed at implementing the preliminary agreement reached between Tehran and Washington.

Prior to Vance’s announcement, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian negotiators wanted to see clear signs of the US following through on the interim deal.

Iran Says No Urgency For Switzerland Meeting

Following the postponement of the talks, Iran’s foreign ministry stated that there was “no urgency” to meet with US negotiators in Switzerland.

“Given that the signing of the text of the MoU was done digitally on June 18, there is no urgency to hold the said meeting in Switzerland, but we are planning to hold a meeting in the coming days,” the spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Swiss foreign ministry stated that it continues to offer a “discreet and reliable setting” at Bürgenstock to support discussions on implementing the US-Iran MoU. It further noted in its statement that no additional details regarding participants or the content of the talks would be disclosed, citing confidentiality concerns.