Qatar and Pakistan said on Monday that the first high-level round of talks between the United States and Iran, held at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, ended with encouraging progress. The meeting took place under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and included delegates from Iran, the United States, and the two mediator states, Qatar and Pakistan.
In their joint statement, the mediators said the summit was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere and produced a mechanism for continued technical talks. They added that a supreme committee would be created to oversee the mediation process politically, while the negotiating team leaders would report regularly to it and head working groups on nuclear issues, sanctions, and monitoring and dispute resolution.
The statement said the committee approved a roadmap for a final agreement within 60 days and laid the groundwork for the immediate start of technical negotiations. The sides also agreed to establish a direct communication line for the period specified in Article 5 of the memorandum, to prevent incidents and misunderstandings and to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The parties further agreed to set up a de-escalation operations room, with mediation support, to help enforce the cessation of military operations in Lebanon in line with the memorandum. Technical talks will continue during the week in Bürgenstock on all outstanding issues. Qatar and Pakistan said they would keep doing everything possible to maintain a positive atmosphere and reach a final deal, and they thanked the United States and Iran for their commitment to diplomacy and peaceful conflict resolution. After the statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that the mediators' efforts had led to major progress and called the Lebanon de-escalation room the first real test.
