Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday evening, where he is expected to hold key meetings to advance diplomatic efforts to help resolve the ongoing US-Iran standoff, according to Reuters.

Naqvi’s visit comes a day after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, during which the two sides exchanged views on recent regional security developments and the newly signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

During his stay in Tehran, Naqvi is expected to meet senior Iranian officials, with discussions likely to focus on regional tensions and ways to advance efforts toward a peaceful resolution of outstanding issues between the United States and Iran.

The visit comes amid continued diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region and explore avenues for dialogue between Washington and Tehran.

US and Iran close to some sort of arrangement

Defence Minister told media outlet Bloomberg News that both the US and Iran are close to some arrangement, according to Reuters. “Things are shaping up again in favour of a peace arrangement or a deal,” the defence minister told Bloomberg. “The signals in the last two or three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement.”

First round of US-Iran talks: Islamabad Talks

Formal US-Iran talks had remained stalled after Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that talks with the United States were “not a priority” and that Iran needed to address its internal issues first.

The first round of talks, dubbed the “Islamabad Talks”, was held in Islamabad in April, with US Vice President JD Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner representing Washington. Iran was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, while Pakistan hosted the negotiations.

However, the two sides failed to reach an agreement aimed at ending the US-Iran conflict, which began following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.

The next round of high-level talks between the two sides was co-hosted by Qatar and Pakistan at the Lake Lucerne Summit in June in Burgenstock, Switzerland.

The talks resulted in preliminary understandings on several key areas of the standoff, with both sides agreeing to a 60-day timeline to formulate a roadmap toward a comprehensive and final peace agreement.

The parties also agreed to establish a high-level committee to ensure continued political coordination and oversight of the mediation process. In addition, technical working groups were formed to address specific and sensitive issues related to Iran’s nuclear commitments and sanctions.

As part of the preliminary understandings, the United States agreed to facilitate the release of up to $20 billion in Iranian assets frozen abroad.

The meeting also agreed to establish a direct communication channel between Washington and Tehran to help safeguard the free passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. A separate deconfliction cell was also proposed to help facilitate an end to military operations in Lebanon.