Pakistan announced that talks between the United States and Iran, postponed on Friday, will commence in Switzerland on Sunday, as Tehran declared it is again closing the Strait of Hormuz due to continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, confirmed on Saturday that an Iranian delegation, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and other senior officials, was heading to Switzerland.
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that top US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are already in Switzerland working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Vance told Fox News he expects to leave for Switzerland “sometime in the next couple of days” but acknowledged that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.”
The planned meeting on Sunday will start technical-level negotiations toward a final US-Iran deal, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier this week declaring a permanent end to “military operations on all fronts,” including in Lebanon.
The MoU stipulates that a final deal should be reached within 60 days, “extendable with mutual consent.” However, getting to the negotiating table proved difficult after the MoU. A round of talks originally planned for Friday was postponed after Iran failed to send its delegation, as deadly Israeli strikes persisted in Lebanon.
Although Israel agreed to a renewed ceasefire with Hezbollah on Friday, its attacks in Lebanon continued into Saturday, killing at least 32 people. On Friday, Israeli attacks killed 83 people and wounded 141, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday announced it was re-imposing restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz over Israeli “crimes” in Lebanon and what it called a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire. It warned ship crews not to approach the strategic waterway.
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned that the flow of energy in the Middle East would halt so long as the US-Iran agreement “remains only on paper.” The US military said its forces were still operating in the “general area” of the Strait of Hormuz and “remain present and vigilant.”
According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Pakistani and Qatari mediators will join the US-Iran talks on Sunday in the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock. Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported a flurry of behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity ahead of the formal negotiations.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei signaled that progress may be scarce until Iran feels the US is living up to its end of the interim deal. He said Iran “must naturally be very firm and serious in demanding fulfilment of obligations” considering the US’s past “failure to honour commitments.”
Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Burgenstock, said there are indications “things are moving backwards from when the MoU was signed,” citing Israel’s continued bombardment of southern Lebanon. “The Iranians see this as a serious breach of the MoU,” he said.
Source: www.aljazeera.com