Interior Minister Momeni expected to arrive in federal capital after Khamenei’s funeral
ISLAMABAD:
A high-level Iranian delegation led by Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni is expected to undertake a crucial visit to Pakistan in the coming days, a trip that diplomatic sources say could possibly pave the way for the next round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad.
The interior minister is expected to visit Islamabad after the burial of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9. The Iranian minister’s visit was first announced last week when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held a joint press conference in Tehran.
Naqvi told reporters that arrangements had already been made for the Iranian delegation’s visit to Islamabad and expressed satisfaction that Momeni would personally lead the delegation.
The visiting team is expected to include senior officials from Iran’s ministries of agriculture, industry, mining and trade, roads and urban development, foreign affairs, as well as representatives from the cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts sectors.
Although the publicly stated agenda of the visit is to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, diplomatic sources said the trip also holds significant political and diplomatic importance.
According to the sources, Pakistan is increasingly seen as a preferred venue for the next round of Iran-US indirect negotiations, with talks possibly taking place in Islamabad later this month.
The sources said that despite recent rounds of talks held at the Swiss resort of Burgenstock and Doha, Tehran’s preferred venue for future engagement with Washington remains Islamabad due to Pakistan’s close ties with Iran and the Gulf states and its growing role as a facilitator.
The possibility of Islamabad hosting the next round of talks was also raised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the latest weekly briefing. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi described the latest indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Doha as “positive progress” and said the dialogue process remained on track.
“Positive progress has been made on issues related to aspects of the Islamabad MoU, building on the Lake Lucerne Summit,” Andrabi said, adding that the parties agreed to continue discussions after the end of the funeral ceremonies of the late Iranian Supreme Leader.
Asked if Pakistan could host the next round of talks, Andrabi said he could not rule out future meetings in Islamabad, although no formal decision had yet been made.
Pakistan and Qatar jointly facilitated the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding last month, which created a framework for renewed diplomatic engagement between Iran and the United States after months of heightened tensions.
Islamabad has played a central role and acted as an important diplomatic intermediary, maintaining close coordination with Tehran and Doha while keeping communication channels open with Washington.
The upcoming visit of the Iranian delegation is therefore considered by diplomats as more than a routine bilateral engagement. They believe it could serve as a preparatory step for another round of sensitive negotiations that could put Pakistan back at the center of regional diplomacy.
