Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir set to meet Trump amid Iran tensions

President Donald Trump is expected to meet Pakistan’s army chief for talks as the US considers supporting Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

The lunch meeting between Trump and Pakistan’s Asim Munir is scheduled to take place at 1pm Washington time Wednesday in the White House Cabinet Room, according to the president’s daily public schedule. It would be the first of its kind with a high-ranking Pakistani official since Trump returned to the White House.

Neither Pakistan’s army nor the government has confirmed the Trump meeting, which would be a rarity. Ahead of the planned meeting, Pakistan has spoken to Iran about wanting talks and signalled that Islamabad may seek a role as a mediator in the Middle East conflict.

Trump met his national security team for more than an hour on Tuesday, fuelling fresh speculation that the US is on the verge of joining Israel’s attack on Iran. American weapons are seen as crucial to achieving a more complete dismantling of Iran’s atomic programme than anything Israel can do alone.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Monday that Iran was willing to return to the negotiating table if Israel refrains from further strikes, citing direct communication with his Iranian counterpart. “Our intention was always to see successful negotiations between the United States and Iran,” Dar said in parliament.

The Pakistani military leader is also expected to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on his US trip, media in the South Asian country reported.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post over the weekend that he has spoken with Iran’s president “to express Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the brotherly people of Iran in the face of Israel’s unprovoked aggression.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 35-minute call with Trump on Tuesday night in the US, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a video statement, with Modi telling Trump “at no time, at any level, were there any talks on issues like India-US trade deal or mediation between India and Pakistan through America.”

There has been no readout yet from the White House on the call.

Indian officials had initially said that Modi wouldn’t attend the G-7. India is not a member, but he was invited by the host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The Indian prime minister was among the first foreign leaders to visit Trump after his return to the White House earlier this year and the two have spoken fondly of their good relations.