CAIRO (AP) — Pakistan’s army chief arrived Wednesday for talks in Tehran in the latest diplomatic move to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. will ramp up its infliction of economic pain on Iran. Bessent said the effort would be the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.
The Pakistani military said the delegation also included the country’s interior minister and other senior security officials. The group is “part of the ongoing mediation efforts,” the military said, but it gave no details.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in the conflict after it hosted rare direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, a move authorities said helped narrow differences between the two sides.
In other developments, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia on an official visit to discuss regional issues. A statement from Sharif’s office said he was received at the airport in Jeddah by senior Saudi officials. Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s foreign minister and information minister.
