Reporting snapshot · 22 May 2026. This report reflects reporting published on 22 May 2026 by Dawn and Al Jazeera and does not include later updates.
What happened
Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of defence forces and chief of army staff, arrived in Tehran on the evening of 22 May as part of Pakistan’s ongoing mediation between the United States and Iran, the military’s media wing said.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Munir was “received and warmly welcomed” by Iran’s interior minister, Eskandar Momeni, on arrival. Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, was also present at the reception.
ISPR said the army chief would discuss US-Iran talks, regional peace and other important issues during the visit, and would meet senior Iranian officials, Dawn reported. The visit was Munir’s second to Tehran during the mediation effort, after an earlier trip last month.
Why it matters
Pakistan has become the principal intermediary between Washington and Tehran since it helped broker a ceasefire on 8 April, more than a month into the war that began on 28 February. Islamabad hosted the first round of direct US-Iran talks on 11 and 12 April; those talks ended without an agreement but also without a breakdown.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on 22 May that a Qatari delegation was holding talks with Iran’s foreign minister but that Pakistan remained the main mediator in the negotiations, Al Jazeera reported.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking before a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, said “slight progress” had been made in the talks. He said there had been “a little bit of movement, and that’s good”, but cautioned against exaggerating the progress. Rubio praised Pakistan’s role, saying the primary interlocutor “has been Pakistan and continues to be”.
In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at his weekly briefing that he could neither confirm nor deny reports of the army chief’s visit. He said Rubio’s remarks referred to Naqvi’s ongoing visit to Tehran rather than any other delegation.
What remains uncertain
Iranian officials played down expectations of an imminent agreement. Baqaei said that despite more frequent exchanges, the diplomatic process was continuing and “we cannot necessarily say we have reached a point where a deal is near”, Al Jazeera reported.
Iran International reported that a source close to the negotiations said Naqvi had not delivered a new American proposal and described reports of a finalised draft agreement as speculation. The differing accounts of how close the sides are to a deal were published on the same day and were not independently confirmed.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Sources reviewed on 2026-05-22.
- Dawn — "CDF Asim Munir arrives in Iran as part of ongoing mediation efforts: ISPR"22 May 2026 · Reports the arrival in Tehran, the ISPR statement and the reception by Iran's interior minister.
- Al Jazeera — "Pakistan's army chief in Iran as US's Rubio says 'slight progress' in talks"22 May 2026 · Reports Rubio's remarks, Iranian statements and the state of the mediation effort.
