Pakistan Army Chief Travelling To Iran For Talks About US

ISLAMABAD, May 22 (dpa) -- Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir is travelling to Tehran amid renewed negotiating efforts in the Iran war to discuss a draft agreement between the United States and Iran, Pakistani security sources told dpa on Friday.

Field Marshall Munir is due to meet Iran's leadership, the sources said. Iranian media had previously reported on the trip.

There is a sense of optimism within Pakistani security circles that a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran is within reach. 

The sources said Munir had been due to travel to Tehran on Thursday but waited for the go-ahead from the Iranian negotiators that an initial agreement could realistically be reached.

It is not known exactly which points are currently under discussion. 

Munir is said to have good contacts with US President Donald Trump and is seen as a mediator between the warring parties.

Pakistan's Interior Minister and Munir confidant Mohsin Naqvi is already in Tehran. He has met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi several times in recent days for talks, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.

Qatar and Pakistan recently submitted a revised proposal for an agreement together with other partners to bridge differences between the US and Iran, according to the US news portal Axios.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed cautious optimism on Thursday about diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war. Speaking ahead of his departure for a NATO meeting in Sweden, he said he believed progress had been made.

--NNN-dpa