Pakistan has emerged as the unlikely facilitator of US-Iran peace negotiations, and with the prospect of additional talks looming, the man at the center of those efforts is the country’s army chief.
Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has positioned himself as the most powerful man in Pakistan, is the favored interlocutor between Washington and Tehran as the warring nations weigh whether to extend their two-week ceasefire due to expire next week.
On Thursday US President Donald Trump said he might go to Islamabad — the site of last weekend’s peace talks — if a deal to end the war is reached there in future negotiations. “The field marshal has been great,” he told reporters. “The prime minister has been really great in Pakistan. So I might go. They want me.”
At the same time Munir was in Tehran, holding meetings with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to Iranian media.
In the marathon 21-hour peace talks in Islamabad last weekend, Munir was on hand to greet Ghalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance as they arrived, playing a key role in facilitating the negotiations. The talks concluded with no deal, but both sides are now considering a two-week ceasefire extension to allow more time to negotiate a peace agreement.
Pakistan’s central role has shone a spotlight on the army leader and the unlikely personal trust he’s earned from both sides. Trump has offered the most effusive praise of Munir, calling him a “great guy” and his “favorite field marshal.” Araghchi embraced Munir heartily as he disembarked in Tehran on Wednesday in full military gear, saying Iran was “delighted” to welcome him and praising the country’s efforts in mediating the talks.
Pakistan has managed to leverage its close ties with the US and Iran, as well as its relations with Saudi Arabia and China to act as a key communication channel between the warring parties. But it’s the increasingly close ties forged with the Trump administration that’s elevated the country’s stature. After a brief armed conflict with India last May, Pakistan praised Trump’s efforts to broker peace between the two nations and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“You could see the warmth between Asim Munir and the Iranian foreign minister when he came out of the airplane,” said Farhan Siddiqui, professor of political science at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi.
“There’s a strong recalibration in our ties with the US as well,” he said. “President Trump has Asim Munir’s ears — he listens to him, and I think that’s what makes us and Munir a central figure.”
India Conflict
Until about a year ago, Munir was a little known figure outside the turbulent halls of Islamabad. After being sidelined by former Prime Minister Imran Khan following a stint as the head of Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, he was hand-picked to lead Pakistan’s army in 2022 by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Last year his profile eclipsed the country’s civilian leader after a brief conflict with India. Trump’s claims that he brokered a truce between the nuclear-armed rivals were rejected by New Delhi but embraced by Islamabad. Munir was invited to a private lunch with Trump at the White House in June last year, an unusual event at the time. He’s since visited Washington on several occasions and met with Trump in the Oval Office alongside Sharif in September.
Pakistan also has historically warm ties with its neighbor Iran, and is home to one of the biggest Muslim Shiite populations outside of the Islamic Republic.
Domestically, Munir’s ascension to the symbolic rank of field marshal and the expansion of the military’s domestic powers consolidated his position. The parliament granted him lifelong immunity from prosecution as a gesture of his services, including his role in the conflict against India.
On the ground in Islamabad, there are indications that the leafy Pakistani capital is preparing to host talks once again. Last weekend’s security lock-down that shuttered roads and cleared out hotels has yet to be fully lifted, while armed patrols are visible throughout. Meanwhile, sporadic power outages served as a reminder of the war’s economic toll on the country.
“When Asim Munir became army chief, he was seen as less connected to the United States than his predecessors,” said Adam Weinstein, deputy director at the Quincy Institute, a think tank in Washington. “Yet he has developed strong personal rapport with President Trump and appears to understand how to manage the relationship to Pakistan’s benefit.”
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