
Hopes of a breakthrough faded after Iran confirmed its absence from the second round of talks in Islamabad, which it said stemmed from Washington’s "excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions", and the naval blockade of its ports.

General Munir is playing a key backchannel mediator between Washington and Tehran. However, critics argue that this positioning is complicated by his reported long-standing proximity to senior figures within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).