Pakistan Carried US Peace Offer to Iran's Top Security Chief

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir carried a formal US offer to Iran in a secret meeting with Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, Al Arabiya reported on Tuesday presenting Tehran with Washington's terms for ending the six-month conflict: lift the naval blockade and sanctions in exchange for Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz and halting its proxy attacks across the region.

The meeting, described by Al Arabiya as "clear and decisive," saw Munir urge Iran to return to the June 17, 2026, memorandum of understanding, the war-ending framework signed in Islamabad by Presidents Trump and Pezeshkian that collapsed within weeks amid mutual accusations of violations and expired on Sunday, August 16, 2026, without a successor agreement.

The disclosure of the Munir-Rezaei meeting adds a critical new dimension to what was publicly reported as a phone call between Munir and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, described at the time as a discussion of "effective solutions to strengthen peace, stability, and security in the West Asian region." Al Arabiya's reporting suggests that the phone call was the visible surface of a far more consequential and direct diplomatic engagement in which Pakistan's army chief was acting as Washington's messenger to Iran's most powerful security official.

The choice of Rezaei as the Iranian interlocutor is itself significant. Rezaei was appointed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's highest security decision-making body, in the weeks following the MOU's expiry, a move analysts described as signaling Tehran's intention to adopt a tougher posture for the next phase of the conflict. It was Rezaei who warned on Saturday that Iran will target the interests of any country helping the United States wage economic warfare against the Islamic Republic, and who threatened "earthquake-like" retaliation if Trump acts. Munir's decision to meet Rezaei directly, rather than limiting his engagement to Iran's foreign ministry, reflects a recognition that in the current Iranian power structure, the IRGC-aligned security establishment rather than the diplomatic corps holds the decisive authority over the conflict's trajectory.

The US offer carried by Munir, lifting the naval blockade and sanctions in exchange for Hormuz opening and an end to proxy attacks, mirrors the framework that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described on Monday as Economic D-Day, and that President Trump has framed as the conflict's endgame. The naval blockade has cost Iran approximately $4.8 billion in lost oil revenue since it was reimposed, and the unprecedented sanctions package announced Monday represents Washington's most comprehensive financial pressure yet. The offer of relief from both instruments in exchange for Iranian compliance on Hormuz and proxy activity represents the clearest public articulation yet of Washington's settlement terms.

Pakistan's role as Washington's chosen messenger to Rezaei reflects Islamabad's unique position throughout the conflict. Pakistan has been one of the two primary mediating nations alongside Qatar, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi making three visits to Tehran, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Munir co-signing a letter to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in June 2026, and Pakistani and Qatari mediation producing the June 21-22 Switzerland talks that generated the Lebanon de-confliction cell as the first formal diplomatic outcome of the conflict. Axios reported on August 16, 2026, that some regional sources believe Pakistani mediators have been providing more optimistic readouts of the talks than the substance justifies, in an effort to maintain momentum.

Whether Rezaei's response to Munir's "clear and decisive" presentation constitutes a genuine opening toward the MOU framework or another episode of diplomatic engagement that produces no durable outcome will become apparent in the days ahead, as Washington's Economic D-Day sanctions take effect and the September 30 Iraqi militia disarmament deadline approaches simultaneously.