Pakistan's army chief was due in Iran on Thursday, Iranian media reported, with Islamabad mediating as the Islamic republic examines a new US proposal to end the Middle East war.

The reported visit by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan's foreign relations, comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the "borderline" between a deal and renewed strikes.

News of the visit came as a Foreign Ministry official in Beijing announced that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting from Saturday to Tuesday for talks.

The visits are happening at a time when a ceasefire on April 8 halted the war launched weeks earlier by the United States and Israel, but negotiation efforts have, to date, failed to yield a lasting peace agreement.

On Thursday, Iran's ISNA news agency said Munir's visit was aimed at continuing "talks and consultations" with Iranian authorities, without providing details. Other Iranian media carried the same report.

Tehran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday accused Washington of seeking to restart the war, while warning of a "forceful response" if Iran is attacked. That came after Trump warned on Wednesday that the window for diplomacy was closing.

"The enemy's movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war," Ghalibaf said.

Pakistan and China have both sought to mediate in the Middle East conflict.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said of Sharif's upcoming China visit at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang: "The leaders of China and Pakistan will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern."

He added that China would work with Pakistan to "make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East".

"China supports Pakistan in playing a fair and balanced mediating role in promoting peace and ending the war," he said. (AFP & Xinhua)


Edited by Aaron Tam