The attack launched by Iran’s hardline Kayhan newspaper against Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir, following his reception in Tehran without carrying a message from Washington, and the focus of his mission on bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table and pushing it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, has exposed an internal struggle within the Iranian regime over the limits of diplomacy with the United States: Is regional mediation a channel for protecting Iranian interests, or an American tool for imposing its conditions? Kayhan questions the usefulness of Pakistani mediation, suggesting that, in its view, Islamabad has become part of an American deception operation.
