Why the spokesman is optimistic

Pakistan's military has said it is "cautiously optimistic" about its mediation between Iran and the United States, in the first interview given by its spokesman since a high-level delegation visited Tehran this week.

Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has travelled to Tehran twice this month, most recently on Monday alongside Saudi and Turkish officials, as part of efforts to de-escalate a war between Iran and the US that is now in its eighth month.

"Why would the Field Marshal be going twice if it is not for some positivity? So yes, of course," spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said when asked whether the trips were a positive sign. "The word that we would use is always cautiously optimistic," added Chaudhry, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations.

He also warned that there were still what he called "powerful spoilers and detractors" who believed conflict served them, without naming them.

What was not disclosed

Speaking in Rawalpindi, where Pakistan's armed forces are headquartered, Chaudhry declined to say what was discussed in Tehran or whether the United States had backed the trip.

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin joined Munir in Tehran on Monday. Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a joint defence pact with Pakistan on 7 August, saying an attack on any signatory will be treated as an attack on all.

Pact open to new members

Chaudhry said the wording of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement does not bar new members, and when asked whether Iran could join, he said: "Anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace, why not? Everyone is most welcome." He added that it was for the political leadership of the three principal parties to decide.

Sources: Reuters | WNCY (carrying the same Reuters report)