Iran Foreign Minister welcomes Pakistani delegation led by army chief Asim Munir

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed on Wednesday a Pakistani delegation led by army chief Asim Munir, days after failed US-Iran talks in Islamabad to end the Middle East war.

Araghchi's Telegram channel posted several photos of him welcoming the Pakistani official, saying: "Munir arrives in Tehran."

The Pakistan military's media wing also confirmed his arrival in Iran, adding that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was also there "as part of the ongoing mediation efforts".

Iranian state TV had reported earlier that the high-ranking Pakistani delegation would bring a new message from Washington and was due to discuss a second round of talks.

Iran had confirmed on Wednesday that the sides had kept talking via Pakistan after a first round of talks in the Pakistani capital fell flat over the weekend.

"Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing.

"Today, we are very likely to receive a Pakistani delegation as a continuation of the discussions in Islamabad," he added.

The US-Iran negotiations in the Pakistani capital at the weekend took place against the backdrop of a fragile two-week ceasefire announced days earlier.

The talks, which lasted around 21 hours, saw the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian side headed by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The main sticking points were not officially disclosed at the time, but US President Donald Trump later castigated Iran for not opening the Strait of Hormuz, which has been all but closed since the outbreak of war on February 28.

Trump also said Iran had refused to concede on the issue of its nuclear programme.

News reports have since said Washington sought a 20-year suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment and that Iran, in turn, proposed suspending its nuclear activity for five years -- an offer US officials rejected.

On Wednesday, Baqaei said some of the US demands during the talks were "unreasonable and unrealistic", without elaborating.

He insisted on Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, saying it could not be "taken away under pressure or through war".

The level of enrichment, he said, remains "negotiable" and "Iran should be able to continue enrichment in accordance with its needs".

Baqaei criticised a US naval blockade on Iranian ports in place since Monday, saying it "will not succeed".

He said Iran "will not enter into any negotiations just to accept the American conditions".