US and Iran embark on ‘historic’ nuclear peace talks at Swiss resort

Top negotiators from the United States, Iran and Pakistan began talks in Switzerland on Sunday to try to secure a fragile ceasefire and reach a deal on the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme. The US team is led by Vice-President J.D. Vance, who reportedly said during the meeting that the gathering was “historic” and the goal was to “turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran and to extend an outstretched hand”. He also said that US President Donald Trump was committed to seeing a “full regional ceasefire”, adding that the technical negotiations “may not solve every disagreement” but they would allow both sides to “sit together as teams for the first time in history”. He joined special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, in Burgenstock, the resort hosting the talks, Associated Press reported. Before setting off from the US, Vance told reporters at the Andrews airbase in Maryland that he expected “a couple of days of talks”. “I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue,” he said. However, Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted the foreign ministry in Tehran as saying the talks would last for just one day. Also on Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was willing to provide assurances that the country was not seeking to develop a nuclear weapon but would not relinquish its right to enrich uranium, Agence France-Presse reported. “What the United States demands is that Iran not build an atomic bomb. This is nothing new, and we can also state in writing that we have no intention of building a bomb,” the president’s website said. “However, we will not relinquish our right to enrichment, and the other side will have no choice but to accept this right.” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir, the chief of the Pakistani defence forces, who are acting as key mediators, also arrived, Sharif’s office announced on social media. Iran’s delegation includes Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, state-run IRIB News reported. Qatar has also sent a delegation to the talks to act as mediators. The participants held separate meetings before going into broader talks involving all four parties – the United States, Iran and mediators from Pakistan and Qatar, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry. “Specialised technical and expert working groups had been established to negotiate the provisions of a final agreement covering all aspects of the memorandum of understanding,” the ministry said, referring to a 14-point interim agreement reached last week. Follow-up groups had also been formed to oversee implementation of the memorandum and monitor progress towards the conclusion of a final agreement, the ministry added. The interim deal was a framework to end the war between the United States, Israel and Iran on “all fronts” and reopen the Strait of Hormuz toll-free for commercial shipping. It proposed a timeline for broader negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, ballistic missiles and regional proxies, as well as schedules to lift sanctions on Tehran, giving the US and Iran a 60-day window to reach an agreement on the technical details. As part of the deal, US$6 billion in frozen funds held by Qatar would be returned to Iran, Al Jazeera quoted Pezeshkian as saying. The talks in Switzerland were expected to flesh out the details of the interim deal and turn the framework into actionable measures, but the negotiations have been overshadowed by continued fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Iran’s military also announced that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and gas supplies. The fighting in Lebanon had already seen talks planned for Friday pushed back. Trump had said there was time to reach a deal but issued a veiled threat to Tehran, saying that without a deal “we will do things that won’t make them happy, but I don’t think it’s going to get to that”. On Sunday he posted on social media that “there will be NO TOLLS” after the end of the 60-day period “unless they are imposed by and for the US … for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East”. On Saturday, US Central Command said 55 merchant ships had passed through the strait carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that a final agreement would not be possible without a deal on Lebanon. He added that waivers on the sale of Iranian oil and unfreezing Tehran’s assets would also be up for discussion, Reuters reported. He told IRNA that Iran was going to talk to the Pakistani and Qatari mediators first before holding four-way talks with the US later in the day. IRNA also reported that Araghchi had met Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. Cassis had also talked to Rafael Grossi, chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog – the International Atomic Energy Agency – on the sidelines of the gathering, AP reported. Nearly four months have passed since the United States and Israel launched coordinated air strikes across Iran, escalating tensions in the Middle East. The fallout has continued to unsettle the global energy markets, pushing up fuel prices and raising concerns over a broader conflict.

US and Iran embark on ‘historic’ nuclear peace talks at Swiss resort

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}With help from Pakistani and Qatari mediators, teams from Washington and Tehran try to shore up a ceasefire

With help from Pakistani and Qatari mediators, teams from Washington and Tehran try to shore up a ceasefire