Skip to content
Welcome, thoughtbot's Giant Robots listeners!Start here
Russia-Ukraine War 2026
12OCT

Munir returns to Tehran two days on

3 min read
10:59UTC

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir returned to Tehran on Saturday, two days after cancelling the trip, calling the talks 'highly productive' toward terminating the war.

ConflictDeveloping
Key takeaway

Munir's two-day cancel-and-return signals Islamabad now reads the deal as moving fast.

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir made his second trip to Tehran on Saturday 23 May, two days after cancelling the first⁠1. The visit was described as "highly productive", with "encouraging progress" toward a final understanding. Munir had pulled out of the 21 May trip over three sticking points: the uranium stockpile, the nuclear sequencing gap, and Iranian Hormuz tolls. His return just two days later is the clearest measure of how fast Islamabad now reads the deal as moving.

Two Pakistani officials told Al Jazeera the MOU is "fairly comprehensive to terminate the war", covering a gradual Hormuz reopening, the lifting of the US blockade and the release of frozen Iranian funds⁠2. Pakistan has functioned as the war's primary back-channel for months; it confirmed it was the active mediator last week. The cancel-then-return cycle marks a sharp acceleration: from early March, it took Islamabad six weeks to extract a single nuclear-monitoring concession.

The carrier matters as much as the message. Iran's deal architecture runs through the IRGC and the Supreme Leader's office, not the civilian Foreign Ministry, so a military principal can engage the people who actually decide. Sending the army chief rather than the foreign minister preserves the general-officer channel that has carried the war's only concrete nuclear-monitoring movement, a channel no diplomatic visit has been able to replace.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, flew to Tehran on Saturday 23 May. This was actually his second attempt that week: he had cancelled a planned trip on Thursday 21 May because three major issues were still blocking an agreement (Iran's uranium stockpile, how to sequence nuclear talks, and Hormuz tolls). Munir returned two days later and described the meeting as 'highly productive' with 'encouraging progress'. Pakistan has been acting as the go-between for the United States and Iran throughout this conflict. Neither side talks directly to the other, so Pakistan's army chief carries messages back and forth. Munir specifically carries the security and nuclear monitoring parts of the discussion because he has credibility with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's powerful military force, in a way a civilian diplomat would not. Two Pakistani officials told Al Jazeera the draft agreement is 'fairly comprehensive to terminate the war'.

First Reported In

Update #106 · Trump says deal; OFAC says nothing

Al Jazeera· 24 May 2026
Read original →
Different Perspectives
Government of Latvia
Government of Latvia
Latvia abstained on 22 September when the EU renewed its individual sanctions for 36 months at the price of delisting Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, and promised national sanctions of its own. Riga's abstention marks how far a frontline member state will go to keep listed names listed.
India's Ministry of External Affairs
India's Ministry of External Affairs
After the House passed the Graham bill on 16 September, India's foreign ministry said it would keep buying energy on market terms and protect its trade. Russia supplied 30.3% of India's crude imports in fiscal 2026, so the tariff decision due around 18 October falls directly on New Delhi.
Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief
Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief
Kallas answered the US licence on 10 October by saying Europe would not ease pressure, and EU ministers adopted a 22nd package of nearly 1,600 listings two days later. Brussels is tightening as Washington loosens, though TASS reported the package adds no significant new trade restrictions.
Donald Trump and the US Treasury
Donald Trump and the US Treasury
The Treasury licensed Russian diesel imports until 7 April 2027 on the day of Trump's call with Putin, and Trump then told reporters Ukraine should find a new leader. Washington is trading sanctions relief for fuel supply while pressing Kyiv to halt the refinery strikes behind the shortage.
Kremlin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak
Kremlin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak
After the 9 October call the Kremlin said Russia was ready to supply oil and petroleum products to American and global markets, and Novak brought forward the end of diesel export curbs. Moscow is selling the shortage back as goodwill, with volumes that Decree No. 686 now hides from outside checks.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Zelenskyy called GL 135 an investment in prolonging the war and offered to stop striking Russian refineries if Russia stops destroying Ukraine's energy system. Answering Trump's call for a new leader, he set a total 60-day ceasefire as the condition for elections, which puts the next move on Moscow.