Preliminary meetings for American-Iranian negotiations began on Sunday in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding last Wednesday aimed at reaching a “comprehensive peace” agreement. However, disputes over Israeli aggression in Lebanon and Iran’s response—closing the Strait of Hormuz—threaten to complicate the course of the talks.
US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland to lead the American delegation, while Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf headed the Iranian delegation, which also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and officials from the central bank and the oil sector. Qatar and Pakistan are taking part as mediators.
Technical meetings may continue until Monday, according to Pakistani television, to be followed by meetings between high-level delegations from both countries and the mediators. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran held separate meetings with the Qatari and Pakistani delegations ahead of the planned four-way meeting with the US.
The talks are meant to open a 60-day negotiation period toward a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the lifting of sanctions, and the implementation of the economic and security clauses in the memorandum.
But the atmosphere around the talks remains clouded by disputes and fears the process could collapse, following the Israeli aggression on Lebanon on Friday and Saturday, and Iran’s response of closing the Strait of Hormuz once again.
Lebanon tops the agenda
The Lebanese file sits at the top of the talks’ agenda. CNN cited an unnamed diplomat saying that an emergency session on Lebanon was added to the discussions and will be the first issue the US and Iranian delegations address.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that negotiations will not begin until five clauses of the memorandum are implemented, particularly the clause on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. It added that Israel continues to violate its commitments, and that this will be the main focus of Sunday’s talks.
These tensions follow the Israeli occupation army’s weekend strikes on several areas in Lebanon, which killed more than 100 people and wounded dozens more, according to the National News Agency. This marked the first violation of the preliminary US-Iran agreement to halt the war on all fronts, before Hezbollah responded by firing on Israeli forces in occupied areas of southern Lebanon, and Iran followed by announcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The semi-official Fars news agency cited unnamed Iranian military sources saying that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and that the Revolutionary Guard’s navy has issued no permits for ships to cross until further notice. This contradicts American assurances that trade and energy traffic through the strait would continue uninterrupted.
The US Central Command said that 55 commercial ships crossed the strait on Saturday, carrying over 17 million barrels of oil bound for global markets, and noted that US forces would guarantee the continuity of commercial shipping.
Shortly before departing for Switzerland, the US vice president said that the United States hopes to make progress on the Iranian nuclear issue, as well as stabilizing the ceasefire in Lebanon, which has become one of the most prominent items on the agenda.
