Zurich: Delegations led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf initiated talks aimed at restoring peace in West Asia in the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock on Sunday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior Qatari leaders were also present as mediators in the quadrilateral talks – termed as the Lake Lucerne Summit.
The discussions are focused on implementing key provisions of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last week by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with Sharif signing as a guarantor.
The MoU marked the beginning of a 60-day negotiation window to restore peace in West Asia with focus on key areas that include Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions imposed on it and Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
Discussions on the technical aspects of the negotiations were supposed to begin on Friday, but were delayed, primarily due to fresh rounds of firing between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
On Sunday, it was the first time in 10 weeks that top leaders from the US and Iran gathered in the same room for direct negotiations – after their last meeting in Islamabad in April when they failed to clinch a deal.
Other top negotiators who are participating in Sunday’s talks include envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner from the US side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and diplomat Esmaeil Baghaei from the Iranian side, and Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir.
“The opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the ending of the Iranian nuclear program, all of these things have already been accomplished,” said Vance ahead of the quadrilateral talks on Sunday.
“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference.”
Calling it a “historic” meeting, he said: “Never before has the Iranian and American leadership met at such a high level.”
Ahead of the talks, Baghaei said in a post on X: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to meticulously and seriously pursue the process of implementing the other party’s commitments.”
Baghaei highlighted that the implementation of the MoU demands the end of the war “on all fronts”, without which “entry into the negotiation phase for the final agreement is not possible”.
Ahead of the quadrilateral meeting, Pakistan PM Sharif praised Trump and appreciated the roles of Iranian leaders.
“Hopefully when we go back to our homes, we’ll have some wonderful paper in our hand which will promote peace, progress and prosperity around the globe,” he said in a press briefing, standing alongside Vance and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
The Qatari prime minister said: “Hopefully, this is just the beginning, and I wish everyone all the best. Qatar will stay dedicated to this partnership to support these mediations until the end, until we reach a solution. We will always be a partner in bringing more peace, prosperity, and hopefully a better future for our region.”
It has been widely reported that Lebanon is expected to dominate discussions after recent clashes between Israel and Hezbollah threatened the fragile US-Iran ceasefire agreement, while Vance has indicated that the US hopes to make advancements on negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclear stock.
On Sunday, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that he met Ignazio Cassis, vice president of the Swiss Federal Council, in Burgenstock “to take stock of recent developments regarding Iran, the path ahead and the important role” of the agency, as he also shared photographs with Cassis on X.
Cassis also met Araghchi on the sidelines of the negotiations on Sunday.
After the meeting, he posted: “At the Lake Lucerne Summit, we offer the framework for discussion and dialogue. In a challenging context, the relationship of trust between Switzerland and Iran, reflected in our protecting power mandate, remains in the service of diplomacy and for peace and security in the Middle East.”
The talks represent a continuation of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region following weeks of escalating military exchanges involving the US, Iran and Israel.
Its aim is to formally launch negotiations over curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme and advancing the fragile interim deal towards durable peace.
The signing of the MoU led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – the waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies pass in normal times.
But Iran said on Saturday that it has closed the Strait again, citing Israeli attack in Lebanon.
Vance said the Gulf chokepoint remains open for shipping, while Trump issued a new threat to impose American tolls in the crucial waterway if a final deal with Iran is not reached in 60 days.
PTI