Iran: Qatar – talks between Washington and Tehran get underway in Switzerland

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the start of talks between the United States and Iran, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, in Switzerland. According to Al Jazeera, the ministry expressed “the hope that these meetings will lead to the conclusion of a comprehensive and permanent agreement addressing all aspects included in the memorandum of understanding”.

Shortly before that, the US delegation – comprising Vice-President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – had met with the Pakistani mediators. In addition, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis welcomed his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, as he reported in a post on X, in which he shared a photo of the meeting between the two at the Burgenstock resort. “In a challenging context, the relationship of trust between Switzerland and Iran, reflected in our mandate as a protecting power, remains at the service of diplomacy, peace and security in the Middle East,” wrote Cassis.