Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir travelled to Tehran on Monday leading an official delegation, with Iran's foreign ministry confirming the visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and continuing Pakistan's mediation efforts between Iran and the United States. The visit coincides with a planned announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of what officials have described as the toughest sanctions ever imposed on Iran, targeting not only Iranian entities but also foreign companies and countries that continue trading with Tehran. Pakistan has played a central role in brokering dialogue between the two sides since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in February, and Iran has warned that continued economic pressure could lead it to block all oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz (the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass), a threat that has already pushed shipping through the strait to well below pre-war levels.