Iran’s foreign minister holds talks with Pakistani interior minister for 2nd day amid mediation efforts with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks Wednesday with Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad for a second consecutive day, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

Araghchi met Naqvi at Shahid Hasheminejad International Airport after arriving in Mashhad, IRNA reported, without providing details on issues discussed. The meeting comes amid mediation efforts to end the war between Iran and the US.

Earlier, Pakistani government sources told Anadolu that the US and Iran “agreed” to extend a 60-day ceasefire under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding as the deal is set to expire Aug. 17.

“Both sides have conveyed their consent to the mediators to extend the deadline,” said a source close to the mediation process. “However, the two sides are exchanging messages to decide on the extension period.”

The meeting between Araghchi and Naqvi came one day after Araghchi and Naqvi held talks in Tehran on key diplomatic and bilateral issues, according to IRNA.

Naqvi’s visit comes amid Pakistani efforts to facilitate dialogue between Iran and the US aimed at ending the war.

The visit comes about one month after Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni traveled to Islamabad for talks with his Pakistani counterpart.

Pakistan, alongside Qatar, played a key mediating role in facilitating a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US in June aimed at ending the war.

The US and Iran agreed to a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April and later signed a deal on June 17, launching negotiations toward a final agreement. But the talks later stalled because of disagreements on security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic routes for global energy supplies and trade.

Between July 8 and July 24, the US and Iran exchanged military strikes, with Washington launching attacks on targets inside Iran. Tehran responded by striking what it described as US military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, including Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.