ISLAMABAD (AP) \u2014 A 15-second video put Pakistan\u2019s powerful army chief back in the global spotlight.<\/p>\n
Posted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the video shows Field Marshal Asim Munir<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Pakistan has been acting as the main mediator between Iran and the United States,<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Here are a few things to know about his role:<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, but a key player<\/p>\n Since Pakistan announced a few weeks ago<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cDelighted to welcome Field Marshal Munir to Iran,\u201d Araghchi posted on his X account alongside the video showing the Pakistani army chief. <\/p>\n According to Charles Lyons-Jones, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute, Sharif and Dar, the foreign minister, \u201cmay 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The most powerful military chief in Pakistan<\/p>\n Munir, 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.<\/a> Months before, he was promoted to field marshal, only the second military officer in the country\u2019s history to hold the title. <\/p>\n