伊斯兰堡（美联社）——一段15秒的视频让巴基斯坦实力雄厚的陆军参谋长再次成为全球关注的焦点。这段由伊朗外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格齐发布的视频显示，穆尼尔大将在身着军装下飞机后，受到了热情的拥抱。这位巴基斯坦官员前往冲突中心，试图缓解紧张局势，并安排德黑兰与华盛顿之间的第二轮谈判。
巴基斯坦一直是伊朗和美国之间的主要调停人，大部分关注点都集中在总理夏巴兹·谢里夫和外交部长伊沙克·达尔身上，部分原因是他们一直在通过社交媒体和新闻稿宣传其外交努力。但另一位人物在这个过程中也发挥了关键作用：陆军参谋长。
据巴基斯坦官员透露，自巴基斯坦几周前宣布在伊朗和美国之间进行斡旋以来，谢里夫已授权穆尼尔与美国和伊朗的政治及军事领导人保持幕后接触，努力缓和不断扩大的地区危机。除了公开发布的影像外，关于陆军参谋长具体行动或会面细节尚未披露。然而，初步努力似乎已初见成效，巴基斯坦上周成功说服美伊代表团在伊斯兰堡举行了罕见的面对面会谈。
据因未获授权向媒体发言而要求匿名的官员称，会谈虽未产生正式协议，但沟通渠道保持开放，穆尼尔被认为发挥了至关重要的支持作用。在首轮谈判结束几天后，巴基斯坦继续与各方保持联系，双方均同意探讨第二轮会谈。为了说服伊朗，穆尼尔飞抵了德黑兰。
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A 15-second video put Pakistan’s powerful army chief back in the global spotlight.Posted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the video shows Field Marshal Asim Munir descending from a plane in military uniform and receiving a fraternal hug from him. The Pakistani official traveled to the epicenter of the conflict to try to ease tensions and arrange a second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.Pakistan has been acting as the main mediator between Iran and the United States, and much of the attention has been on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in part because they have been tweeting and issuing press releases about their efforts. But another figure has also been key to the process: the army chief.Here are a few things to know about his role:
Behind the scenes, but a key playerSince Pakistan announced a few weeks ago that it was mediating between Iran and the U.S., Sharif has tasked Munir with maintaining behind-the-scenes contacts with American and Iranian political and military leaders in an effort to de-escalate the widening regional crisis, according to Pakistani officials.There have been no specific details about what the army chief has been doing or whom he has met beyond publicly released images. However, the initial efforts appear to have had some effect, as Pakistan managed to convince U.S. and Iranian delegations to hold rare face-to-face talks in Islamabad last week.
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The talks did not produce a formal agreement, but the communication channel has remained open, and Munir is considered to have played a vital supporting role, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Just a few days after the first round of talks ended, Pakistan kept reaching out to the parties and both sides agreed to explore a second round. In order to convince Iran, Munir flew to Tehran on Wednesday.
“Delighted to welcome Field Marshal Munir to Iran,” Araghchi posted on his X account alongside the video showing the Pakistani army chief. According to Charles Lyons-Jones, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute, Sharif and Dar, the foreign minister, “may well appear to be prominent figures in the U.S.-Iran peace talks, but make no mistake, Asim Munir is the man taking the decisions.”The most powerful military chief in PakistanMunir, a prominent figure inside and outside Pakistan, in December became the most powerful military person in the country when the government named him both the chief of army staff and defense forces. Months before, he was promoted to field marshal, only the second military officer in the country’s history to hold the title. “Field Marshal Munir is easily the most powerful Pakistani leader since Pervez Musharraf, giving him complete authority over military appointments, civilian government decision-making and the military’s sprawling bus
