Pakistan and Qatar, acting as mediators in the peace talks between the US and Iran, issued a joint statement noting that the dialogue had taken place in a “positive and constructive atmosphere” and that the parties had made “encouraging progress”.
According to the report, the US and Iran have agreed to establish a high-level committee to provide “political oversight of the mediation process”.
The negotiators will report regularly to this committee and lead working groups that will focus “on nuclear issues, sanctions, as well as a monitoring and dispute resolution group to ensure the effective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding and other issues’.
Technical talks “on all issues” will continue until the end of this week in Switzerland.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai confirmed that the US and Iranian delegations had discussed preparations for negotiations aimed at concluding a final agreement. According to his comments, as quoted by CNN, the delegations in Switzerland discussed issues necessary for the start of final negotiations, in particular the unfreezing of Iran’s frozen assets and the granting of sanctions exemptions for the sale of Iranian oil. Bagai also spoke of ‘significant progress’ having been made, and noted that the US and Iran had agreed on the need to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance arrived in Switzerland on 21 June, where he took part in talks with the Iranian delegation, with mediators from Pakistan and Qatar also present.
The Iranian delegation is led by the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, and also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The US delegation includes President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Whitecoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Switzerland earlier. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, who are key mediators, have also arrived in Switzerland.
According to Vance, the talks may last more than one day and will focus on two issues – Iran’s nuclear programme and the situation in Lebanon.