UN envoy meets senior officials, tours civilian sites damaged by airstrikes in Tehran

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Personal Envoy Jean Arnault visited Tehran on Thursday, holding meetings with senior Foreign Ministry officials, according to the UN.

Arnault met Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi and representatives of the Iranian Red Crescent, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric said Arnault described the meeting with the deputy foreign minister as “substantive” and hoped to continue consultations.

Arnault was taken to civilian sites damaged in US-Israeli airstrikes, including a university and an apartment block that was destroyed.

The envoy “heard views on the way forward” and reiterated Guterres’ commitment to supporting a peaceful settlement. Arnault is expected to continue his regional tour with visits to the Middle East, said Dujarric.

On whether Arnault planned to travel to Islamabad to participate in peace talks on Saturday, Dujarric said the envoy’s travel plans remained “a moving target.”

The visit came after the UN welcomed a ceasefire agreement brokered by Pakistan and other partners, saying it created “space for diplomacy to advance towards ending the war.”

US and Israeli strikes against Iran began Feb. 28 and have reportedly killed at least 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

READ: Netanyahu: Iran ceasefire not end of war